Taking a Chance: A Klaroline Fanfic
by a-little-blonde-distraction
Summary: "The Holiday" Klaroline style: Caroline and Rebekah are 2 miserable single girls down on luck with love who home exchange for the holidays... Both end up getting more than than just a little holiday spirit... AU: Klaroline & Mabekah
1. Chapter 1

_**Taking a Chance:**_

A Klaroline Fanfic

_Based on the movie **The Holiday**_

_Written and directed by Nancy Meyers_

_**Author's Note: **_This fanfic is purely for fun, I do not claim to own the premise or circumstances of the story or the characters, just the idea of meshing Klaroline and _The Holiday _(one of my all time fave movies) together.

"Well... so much for that..." Caroline murmured to herself as she shoved the last few bits of her things back into her suitcase. She should've known that her spur of the moment decision to jet across an ocean to spend her Christmas vacation... alone, was a bad idea. She sighed, she'd hoped that being somewhere other than the small town of Mystic Falls, Virginia would help her feel less alone, but no such luck. Being in this nice little cottage just outside of London was fun for a bit, exploring all the little nooks and crannies, finding what was where, and settling in. But after food shopping, reading half of the cheesy romance novels she'd brought with her, and watching the one DVD she brought with her, _The Notebook_, for the umpteenth time, Caroline was just ready to go home. Or whatever semblance of a "home" she'd left in Virginia.

She felt bad she'd have to call Rebekah in a moment after she brought her luggage downstairs, and explain that they would have to switch back places sooner than they'd thought. Since it was around 1 am in London, she did the math and knew it was only 8ish on the East Coast in the U.S. so she knew she wouldn't be disturbing her or waking her up, but Caroline hated the thought of short-changing Rebekah, who sounded like she needed a change of scenery and a vacation as much as Caroline had thought she did. But she'd already switched her plane ticket for next week to tomorrow, so maybe Rebekah would be alright with allowing Caroline to put her up in a hotel for the remainder of the week; but it was settled. She was leaving the U.K.

Suddenly, Rebekah's Cairn terrier, Julie, was barking and running down the stairs from the bedroom to the front door. "What is it?" Caroline, called after the little dog softly. She heard a couple knocks and Julie downstairs barking at the door, so Caroline followed suit and descended the staircase, careful not to bang her head on the low ceiling and rafters that she'd banged her head on earlier. Still on the stairs, Caroline suddenly heard more knocking, and an accented voice from outside call through the door, "REBEKAH! Open up!" She paused on the stairs, not recognizing the man's voice-why would she? She didn't know anyone in England!-so she called out, with slight hesitation, "Who is it?"

"It's me! Come on, Beks, open up, it's freezing out here!" the man responded, still thinking that Caroline was Rebekah. _He must not be that smart or he's just totally out of it, _Caroline thought to herself_, does he not realize I don't have a British accent?_

"Who are you?" Caroline questioned, stepping off the stairs, but still keeping her distance from the door. She still didn't know who it was or what they were capable of, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Beks, seriously, if you don't let me in, I'm going to piss all over your porch..." the voice responded, sounding less loud than it had, which made Caroline realize they must have their back to the door which meant... _Oh my gosh! Don't pee all over my, I mean, Rebekah's porch, you psycho! _Caroline thought and panicked, rushing to the door and flinging it open, ready to push whoever this asshole was off the porch and open a can of good old American Whoop-Ass on him.

All she saw when she opened the door was a hunched back, clad in a black pea coat and dark jeans, but upon hearing the door open, the man turned around, hands on their fly with an half relieved, half impish look on his face as if he were relieved to finally have access to a toilet but ready to rag on the owner of the house for almost making him leave her yellow pictures and messages in the snow on her front porch. But the blonde standing before him in pink pajama pants, slipper boots, and a long, draping gray sweater with black trim was not the blonde he expected to answer the door. Frankly both were shocked at the other person standing there before them, and took a moment staring at each other before the man finally spoke.

"You're not Rebekah," he said, still staring at Caroline, somewhat at a loss for words, until he grinned a cheeky smile that revealed dimples and added, "...or if you are, I am much, _much_ more drunk than I thought I was..."

Caroline reddened at his words and pulled the loose edges of her drapey sweater tighter across her chest, suddenly feeling very underdressed in her pajamas in front of a total stranger. A rugged, super gorgeous, adorably dimpled, British accented stranger. She shivered, but she credited it to the door being wide open.

"No, no... I'm not Rebekah..." Caroline assured him, taking in his short, sandy blonde curls and piercing blue eyes, which had never left her face since she opened the door.

"Well, in that case, I'm sorry for my earlier rudeness, I do apologize, I didn't think that you would be the one answering the door," the man said with sincerity, but ending with that cheeky, dimpled smile.

"Well, I didn't think you'd be at the door either..." Caroline answered lamely. She was kind of at a loss, she didn't really know what to do next. Sizing him up, shivering and shifting from one leg to the next obviously holding in his bladder, he really didn't seem like any imminent threat, so she tried to put herself at ease.

"I'm sorry, do you, do you mind if I...?" he suddenly asked, pointing over her right shoulder, and she instantly knew he was pointing at the door to the hall bathroom she'd discovered earlier.

"Oh! Sure! Sure sure, sorry! Please come in!" Caroline exclaimed, stepping aside and gesturing for him to come inside.

"Thank you so much..." he said hurriedly, stepping inside, wiping the snow off his boots on the doormat very quickly and rushing past her, but as she moved to go and close the door, he suddenly turned back to her and extended a hand to her.

"I'm Klaus, by the way... Rebekah's brother..." he said, warmly, taking hold of her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze and a slight shake and continuing to his desired destination.

"Oh...wellI'mCarolineforbesandI'mstayinghere..." Caroline responded in her fast speech, which was normal for her, especially when she was meeting new people.

" 'Carolineforbes,' is that all one word?" Klaus said quizzically, pausing with his hand on the doorknob momentarily to look back at Caroline with a tickled expression on his face.

"No," Caroline chuckled lightly, knowing that he must have suddenly tuned into her American accent and speaking fast probably wasn't helping much.

"Oh..." Klaus laughed nonchalantly as he closed the bathroom door behind him and Caroline could immediately hear him relieving himself, both in the physical act and his audible reaction. 'Brother'? Caroline mouthed to herself before she squealed softly and panicked for a second, her instincts searching for the nearest mirror to check herself in, which happened to be right by the front door. While Klaus, the mega hottie was distracted, she quickly wiped her face, around her eyes trying to fix smudged eyeliner, she tousled her hair a bit, which had lost some of its earlier volume it had this morning from using a curling iron and squealed again, knowing that he could walk out of the bathroom at any moment, and flipped her head upside down to scrunch her hair and tousle her roots a bit in a vain effort to fluff more volume up in her hair.

"So, where exactly is my sister, and why are you in her house?" Klaus called from the bathroom.

"She didn't tell you?" Caroline said, surprised that Rebekah hadn't told her family that she was going away for the holidays. Then again, Caroline hadn't really told anyone she was leaving, but in reality she didn't really have anyone to tell. Just then she heard the toilet flush and the sink start, so she flipped her head up quickly and tried to tame her hair so she didn't look like she'd tried to do anything, and so she didn't look like a crazy person. As he was exiting the bathroom, Klaus accidentally brushed a bookend with his elbow on the table against the wall outside the bathroom, so as he fumbled to catch it and anything else he displaced, and Caroline looked herself over quickly, and realized she had tucked her pajama bottoms into her fuzzy socks in her effort to keep warm, so she quickly untucked those, almost losing her balance herself, but quickly recovering just as he looked back up.

"Well, obviously not..." Klaus said sheepishly, looking at Caroline apologetically, stepping away from the table as if he were afraid he'd cause more damage.

"Um, well she's in Virginia!" Caroline said, brightly. Klaus stared at her as if she had fireworks shooting out of her ears and nose.

"No... that can't be true, Rebekah never goes _anywhere!_" he said, obviously not kidding from the honest shock evident in his voice. Caroline laughed at his innocent declaration and added, "Well, we're a match made in heaven then, because neither do I!"

"But you're here..." Klaus said plainly while taking off his peacoat, gazing softly at her, and that's when Caroline realized how close they were standing to one another, and she could really take a look at him. She noticed that he was wearing a very basic cable knit sweater and it was a lighter gray than hers was, which contrasted the darkness of his jeans, which looked almost black in this light and Caroline took in his muscular build. He wasn't body builder size, but he was just solidly built, and he was pushing his sleeves up to rest below his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms, which had a light dusting of hair on them. He deposited his peacoat onto the nearby coatrack and he placed his one hand on the wall and the other stuck half in his other pocket. His hands were nice, big and strong looking, and the hand in his pocket brought her attention back to his jeans, which he seemed to have no trouble whatsoever filling just fine. It made Caroline shiver again, and she knew for sure this time that it wasn't from the cold. She cleared her throat to regain her thoughts.

"Yes, well, I mean, your sister posted this cottage on a home exchange website and I saw the posting, so I contacted her and we've switched houses for 2 weeks, I'm here and she's in Mystic Falls..." Caroline said, retelling how she and Rebekah first met. Well, they had never actually met in person, all the arrangements were done either online, over the phone or over text messages, so she had never actually met Rebekah in person. It was a little sketchy at first, but the home exchange website was a legit site that ran background checks and the more Caroline talked to Rebekah, the more she liked her and everything just seemed to fall into place. Klaus listened to Caroline intently, his one hand still resting on the wall next to them for stability.

"People actually do that sort of thing?" he said bluntly. Caroline chuckled again, assuming that Klaus's directness was due to his state of inebriation.

"Yes, apparently so, because here I am, talking to you! In my pajamas!" Caroline said lightly, intending for it to be a joke, until she realized she was directing a hot, drunk foreign man to notice being dressed in nothing but a sleep shirt, pajama pants, socks and a sweater. Klaus gazed at Caroline up and down, openly taking her in just as she had and his gaze slowly lingered on its way back up to her face, causing her face which had died down to a slight blush to go back to red. Once his eyes were back on her face, he smiled again.

"Well she did give me a ring last night, but I called her today and she didn't-Ohhhh..." Klaus said, suddenly realizing why his sister hadn't answered her phone and hadn't called him back. He sighed and took his hand off the wall, saying, "Now I feel awful... that was lousy of me!"

He and Caroline stood their for a moment looking at each other, and now that he'd taken his hand off the wall, they were standing even closer and Caroline could smell the slight hint of his musky cologne, one she'd never smelled before, and the faintest whiff of liquor, which all just made him smell very manly. Then she realized his face was suddenly getting closer to hers. _What is he doing? Is he going to kiss me? _Caroline thought, panicking, but for some reason she just stood where she was and had no impulse to move or stop him verbally or physically. Klaus was still gazing at her, but then he must have realized how close he was to her.

"I'm sorry, do you mind if I take a seat, I feel like I might bump into you..." he said apologetically. Caroline immediately snapped back to reality and shook her head and moved slightly and gestured to the couch.

"No! No of course, go right ahead!" she said, suddenly realizing how long he'd been standing and that it was probably best if he sat, seeing as how he had the easiest time standing with one hand against the wall. Knowing the way, Klaus moved over to the couch, only staggering slightly, and plopped down on the couch, and moaned again in relief, starting to fall over slightly but steadying himself with one hand on the couch cushion. Caroline let out a breath that she didn't know she'd been holding from having him that close to her face, and watching him realized he must be having the spins and became concerned, not knowing how many drinks he'd had and how his body would react to the alcohol next.

"Are you okay?" she said, crossing to him, wondering if she should just go and get a trash can or something without questions asked.

"Oh no, yeah, I'm fine..." Klaus assured her, waving a hand at her, chuckling, then looking up at her sheepishly again, "Look I'm so sorry about intruding..." he apologized again, and Caroline shook her head and shrugged as if it was no problem, and he continued, "Although it doesn't look like it, I am Rebekah's mostly responsible older brother, but on the rare occasion that I go to the local pub and get piss drunk, my little sis puts me up so I don't have to get behind the wheel... although that rare occasion has become less rare, and it's a pathetic explanation that has unfortunately become a routine..." Klaus apparently had been thinking more, but chose not to say more out loud and trailed off, until he cut off his thoughts and looked back at Caroline. "So how are you? How are you enjoying your holiday so far?" Caroline laughed politely, not wanting to bog him down with her problems, but after being alone for past couple of hours-which alone seemed like days-she was glad to have someone to talk to and decided to make the most of it.

"Well, I mean, it's not... Not very much, actually..." she admitted, "I'm going to be leaving tomorrow on a plane in the early afternoon..."

"Oh... when did you get here?"

"Hmm about six hours ago?"

"Well we've done a great job impressing you, haven't we?" he laughed. Caroline laughed too, appreciating how nice he was being, but sighing.

"Well, I mean, it's not that, I mean, I just, I'm not really myself right now, I just came here impulsively on a whim, seriously, I've never thought of anything less, which is very unlike me..." she said honestly. He smiled at her, just listening and watching her, obviously seeing that what she wanted was someone to hear her. However Caroline wanted to change the subject so she tried to be a good host.

"Would you like something to drink? Water? Tea? ...wine maybe?" she said, doing her best to be cordial and accommodating in a house that wasn't her own. Klaus regarded her for a moment, then looked in the direction of kitchen and pointed, "I think there's some brandy there... fancy a glass?" he said with that cheeky grin. Caroline smiled and thought about it for a moment, but deciding that even though she'd never had brandy before, she'd give it a shot.

"Sure!" she said, as she walked in the direction he had indicated, and quickly found the glass decanter with the amber colored liquid and short liquor glasses beside them and picked up two glasses and brought them back to the living room.

"So... I'm sorry, I've totally blanked, I've completely forgotten your name..." Klaus said, sounding annoyed with himself for being so rude.

Caroline rolled her eyes and smiled, willing to forgive him for forgetting her name in his drunken stupor and offered up, "Caroline... you know like the Neil Diamond song?" Klaus laughed, thinking it was adorable that that was the first thing that Caroline thought of, and wondered if that's the reason her parents named her Caroline.

"Ah, right... 'sweet Caroline...'" Klaus enunciated.

"Ba ba BA!" Caroline sang, as she placed the decanter and glasses down on the coffee table and taking a seat in the arm chair across from Klaus on the couch. Klaus laughed at her lightheartedness and continued.

"So... 'Sweet-Caroline-like-the-Neil-Diamond-song'..." Klaus said teasingly, "...you're not married, are you?"

"Why, do I look not married?"

"No I mean, I was just, it was just a roundabout way of asking you if you _were_ married..." he finally said , and Caroline smiled hearing him struggle to find the right phrasing like she had earlier.

"No, not at all.." she responded quickly as she poured the brandy, but then thought, "I don't even know what that means... but no, I'm not," as she put the stopper back in the decanter and handed him a glass and took one for herself.

Klaus chucked, "Yeah, me either..." holding out his glass to Caroline, which she took as an invitation to clink glasses and smiled and clinked her glass to his before taking a tiny sip, Klaus' sip bigger than hers, but he smiled as he swallowed, seeing her contain her reaction to the strength of the liquor, which she had apparently not been expecting. Once she'd swallowed, she smiled at him and he smiled back and he asked graciously, "Would it be horrible if I stay? I promise I will be gone before you even wake up, you'll never have to lay eyes on me again." Caroline only had to think about it for a moment, before she realized how rude it would be to turn Rebekah's brother out especially when they have such a responsible arrangement to keep him safe. Besides, she realized she didn't mind if he stuck around a while longer.

"No, sure sure, of course... lemme just... get you a blanket..." Caroline put her glass down and busied herself but then seeing how stupid she looked wandering around having no idea where to look for linens and blankets.

"Inside the cupboard, love, next to the Scrabble..." Klaus offered, smiling at Caroline's congenial effort.

"Right right..." Caroline said, knowing where to actually retrieve the blanket from, and being slightly distracted by him calling her 'love' and liking the way it sounded. Klaus smiled and started to take his shoes off and tuck them underneath the coffee table out of the way.

"So tell me, why is it that you're 'not exactly yourself' at the moment?" he inquired innocently, standing once his shoes were off.

"Uh, well, I just... uh, I just broke up with someone... yesterday..."

"Ah!" he said.

"And, I guess my train of thought had been that I didn't want to be alone over the holidays, and I thought if I was somewhere else, I wouldn't realize I was alone, but then I get over here and I've never felt so alone in my life!" she said, her speed quickening but not as fast as before, and she took a pillow and blanket from the cabinet and placed them in Klaus's arms. Klaus just stood watching and listening again, and smiling kindly at her as she confessed more than she had realized she'd meant to. She tried to recover the heaviness she'd dumped on him by laughing at herself.

"Bet you're glad you knocked on this door, aren't you?" she said, sarcastically.

"I am... actually..." he said, softly. He gazed at her with way he'd being softly gazing at her all night, and the natural huskiness to his voice combined with the sophistication of his accent made Caroline weak at the knees. All she could do was gaze back at him and look back into his piercing blue eyes, which she could see now were more of a light sea foamy blue green and were so unique, she knew she'd never seen anyone with such beautiful eyes. Caroline wasn't sure what to do next, she felt like she could hug him, she was so grateful to him for being a listening ear when she needed one and he'd been so polite and friendly, but they'd just met, and they had been staring at each other in silence for a while, so she was bold and daring and made the first move and laughed off his sincere response.

"Yeah, well... anyway... good night!" She said with a smile. Klaus smiled back at her and seeing those dimples made her smile even more.

"Sweet dreams, love," he said nicely, and leaned in and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pecked her on the lips. He pulled back and they both stared at each other, slowly registering what had just happened. Both gasped, and Klaus's eyes softened, realizing how forward and untoward he'd been and he was immediately inclined to apologize, but Caroline spoke first.

"Do you think you could... um... would you mind..." she said, her tone indiscernible, Klaus immediately readied himself to grab his shoes and coat and run through the snow, knowing that surely she'd throw him out for coming onto her.

"...trying that again?" her voice changed and was undoubtedly 100% serious and meaning business, which was the opposite of how Klaus expected that sentence to end. He didn't say a word, just searched her face for confirmation, and found it in her expectant expression and her body language with her body leaning forward ever so slightly and her face even more inclined.

He was intrigued by her unconventional reaction, so he slowly brought his face to hers again, eyes flickering back and forth between her lips and eyes, until his lips met hers again, and he held his lips to hers for a moment or two longer than just a peck, reveling in how soft and supple her lips were, not wanting to break the kiss but needing to see her reaction. As he pulled away, she had apparently been leaning into it, so much so that as he pulled away she caught herself off balance then set herself straight again. He smiled inwardly because body language alone that was a good sign, however her face looked puzzled for some reason. He waited for a response until finally just had to know.

"Bad?" he said simply. Caroline sucked in a breath, shaking her head slightly.

"Weird," she responded distantly, her face still puzzled as she sank down and took a seat on the couch. _What is going on with me? _Caroline wondered to herself. _I jet set across the Atlantic fucking Ocean, which I have never done before, to London, where I have never been before, and kiss a complete stranger, who happens to be the brother of the woman who's house I'm living in, whom I've never actually met before and is just as much a stranger to me as this guy!_

"I'm kissing a total stranger..." she mused out loud as Klaus took the seat next to her, listening to her, but then reacting, surprised with her revelation.

"Really? Well I do it all the time..." Klaus said unabashedly. Caroline didn't even care, she suddenly had another idea and was curious to how she herself would fare.

"Here, let me try this..." she said as she grabbed the back of his neck, and she pulled him towards her for another kiss. Klaus smiled, liking her boldness and liking her smooth, small hands on the back of his neck, gently grabbing the hair at the base of his neck, and allowed her to control this one. Caroline put her lips to his, putting much more of her body into it, and liking it, but something still felt not right. Klaus's eyes were still closed, until he suddenly heard, "Maybe if I try with my eyes closed." He opened his eyes and laughed and realized her confusion came from keeping her eyes open while they kissed, which he had never noticed since he always tended to close his eyes while kissing, so he nodded encouragingly and she very obediently closed her eyes, then extended her face towards him again, this time waiting for him to initiate it.

Caroline sat patiently, waiting to feel Klaus's lips against her own. She felt his hands lightly brush the sides her face and move her hair out of the way to gently hold and caress her face and neck, but instead of on her lips as she expected, she suddenly felt his lips lightly touch on her eyebrow, between the eyebrow and the crease of her eyelid. With her eyes closed, every other sense was suddenly heightened, and the smooth sensitive skin of her eyelid picked up every little sensation, from the smoothness of his lips to the slight prickle of the scruff he had on his face, and it felt amazing.

So amazing, that Caroline couldn't control the gasp and moan that came out of her, and Klaus smiled and continued to slowly place light kisses all over her face which he still held with both hands, working his way to her mouth, on which he planted the most passionate kiss yet, which Caroline gladly accepted and reciprocated his passion, nearly pushing him back on the couch. Feeling her forcefulness, Klaus upped his intensity to match hers, smoothly gliding his tongue along her bottom lip, which she immediately took his hint and quickly opened her mouth. He took her invitation and the two began kissing as if they'd been kissing each other all their lives, even though it had only been for the past 3 minutes.

Caroline suddenly broke away though, catching her breath and saying, "You know, given that I'm in a bit of a personal crisis, and I'm staying in a complete stranger's home in a little town in England that I hadn't actually heard of before coming here, and considering that you showed up and you're insanely gorgeous and a really good kisser and really drunk and probably won't remember this anyway, um... I'm thinking that we should have sex." Klaus was stunned, it didn't happen often but Klaus was speechless. He'd never met a girl who had admitted so much openly and actually propositioned _him_ for sex. But he couldn't even really focus on her words, because while she had been speaking, she'd realized her hands had been grabbing bunches of his sweater in an attempt to pull him closer, and she had released her hands and was stroking the front of his sweater, trying to put it back nicely, but had absentmindedly kept the ministrations going while she spoke, but he did manage an eyebrow raise a beat after the word "sex." She reacted to his eyebrows raising immediately turning the offer more polite.

"I mean if you want to." Klaus just stared back at her, thinking, _Is she nuts? Why wouldn't I want to sleep with you, darling, you're gorgeous, and quirky and smart and..._

"Wait a minute," Klaus said, interrupting his own thoughts, "...is this like, a trick question or something?"

Caroline smiled, "I'm... actually serious..." trying to feel out what he was thinking. "And not that this matters, but I've never said anything like that in my entire life, which was so _thrilling_ and I actually _loved_ saying it," she admitted excitedly, and Klaus thought it was absolutely adorable and tucked a strand of her hair which had fallen in her face behind her ear, and she took his pause as an opportunity to explain her proposition more clearly.

"It's just that this whole you showing up out of nowhere and me leaving tomorrow and probably never seeing you again thing is really exciting, and I mean isn't this what you're supposed to do on vacation? Do things because just you want to, embrace the unexpected and you are..." Caroline trailed a hand through his curls to the back of his neck as her words trailed for a moment, "..._definitely_ unexpected..."

Klaus snickered and brought his hand up and placed his left hand over top of her right hand, which had rested on his shoulder while the other one still in his hair, played with his curls, and his right hand to her thigh, since they were sitting face to face since she'd broken away from the kiss. He gave her thigh a gentle squeeze, and said, "Oh so I get it, so I'm your little cabana boy, am I?"

Caroline laughed, "Gosh and you're so funny, total bonus..." and leaned forward to touch her nose to his.

"Is that so? Well then, you should never meet me when I'm sober then..." Klaus admitted lightly but teasingly. Caroline let out a breath which sounded as if it were a small laugh, but then suddenly said, "Deal," and grabbed Klaus and this time was the one holding his face in her hands while she assaulted his mouth with the most passion-filled kiss she could muster, which caught Klaus off guard and allowed her to push him back towards the couch a bit, before he caught her, holding onto her torso above her waist. His hands then slid up her sides to go to her shoulder blades, but on their way up, lightly grazed the sides of her breasts, which were still covered from his touch through a sleep shirt and a sweater, but his touch still managed to take Caroline's breath away.

"Uh also I should warn you, I'm not very good at this..." she said, being the sheepish one this time. Klaus paused and stared at her, confused.

"And 'this' being...?"

"Huh... well... sex..." Klaus nearly died, she must be kidding. He laughed and shook his head. _What the devil is this girl going on about? She calls me a good kisser, she's a phenomenal kisser, she can't possibly be 'bad' at sex... And just look at her, she's a knockout... what wankers have you been going out with, love?_

"No, no..." Klaus refused to believe it, "there's no way that's true, love..." Caroline smiled, touched at his sincerity, but had to explain why she was so bad at sex.

"Yeah, well, the guy that I was living with for the past five years mentioned it, one, or twice... or five times, but who's counting... I mean, how was I supposed to forget a comment like that?"

"Quickly and easily, sweetheart..." he said simply. Caroline's eyes flickered around his face, realizing the raw honesty and sincerity, and loving that he was probably the most gracious and sympathetic people she'd ever met, much less become romantically involved with, and it was such a breath of fresh air...and a total turn on. She attacked him again, this time him welcoming it and meeting her every move tit for tat. She broke away again and opened her mouth to speak, making Klaus laugh at how verbose she was and finding it highly entertaining and completely adorable.

"You're right, I mean, how bad can I be? I mean sex is so _basic_, I mean it is pretty straight forward, I mean right?"

"Right..."

"Am I talking too much? Am I talking you out of this?"

Klaus looked her over and wondered how such a strong and spirited girl could be so unsure of herself, and realized that her humility was something that wildly attracted him to her. She was so _real_; no pretenses or filters, just her-sweet, simple Caroline. He chuckled, "No, surprisingly, not at all, love..." He leaned back in for another kiss, but paused close to her face, adding, "...how do you feel about foreplay?"

Caroline grinned in her own cheeky way, and murmured in a low tone, "I think it's seriously overrated... completely and extremely overrated..."

Despite the negative words, Klaus regarded the twinkle in her eye and her cheeky grin which succeeded more at being seductive than cheeky, and grinned back, "You are honestly one of the most interesting girls I have ever met..." And he meant it wholeheartedly. Caroline took the compliment and started to close the gap between them, both hands now in his hair, but when their lips were millimeters apart, she slowly pulled away, slowly and tantalizingly dragging her fingers through his scalp, down the sides of his face until one hand was holding his chin as she rose from the couch and held his chin until she was an arms length away and finally dropped it. Klaus's closed eyes and intimate face, from thinking he was about to kiss her, evolved quickly into a saucy grin as he realized what she was doing and saw her casually grab her glass and slowly drag the decanter of brandy off the table, her sweater sliding off her one shoulder slightly, revealing her smooth, pale shoulder as she slowly walked away from him, never tearing her eyes from his. Klaus groaned softly and said, "You see that? You're already better than you think, love..."

Caroline took the stopper out of the decanter and just placed it down somewhere, and poured herself a bit more brandy and took a big sip, then licked her lips, causing Klaus to groan again, and said, "Well I'm happy to prove that asshole wrong to you, Mr. Mikaelson..." Hearing her say his name like that, with that seductive tone and grin on her face, Klaus couldn't contain himself, he growled a bit and stood up from the couch, and crossed to her, and pulled her body into him and captured her lips with his own, still tasting the brandy on them.

As Klaus ravished her mouth, Caroline nearly dropped the decanter and glass just from the sheer feeling of her body against his. He was the yin to her yang and in their own unique, nonsensical yet sensical way fit together perfectly. His semi-soft yet woolen sweater and rough jeans contrasted her soft fuzzy sweater and the soft, flimsy fabric of her sleep shirt and pajama pants, which made it easier for her to feel things through the fabrics she was wearing. And all she felt was his solid, manly physic against her softer, feminine one, and that wasn't all she felt.

Apparently sitting on the couch in jeans had hidden it fairly well, because his arousal was completely evident whilst he was standing, and more importantly pressing his body to Caroline's. Her head was getting dizzy from his passionate kisses, the brandy, and the feeling of his body pressed to hers. Klaus pulled away though, allowing Caroline to catch her breath and pressed his forehead to hers, "Easy there, love... Pace yourself, wouldn't want to tire yourself out before the night's even begun..." He then swiftly and smoothly took the decanter and glass from her, finishing off what she had poured herself, and walked past her, holding the glass but letting his forefinger trail down her arm, from her shoulder down past her elbow, which only caused another shiver, and she staggered like he had earlier.

She turned and saw him ascending the staircase, knowingly dodging the low rafters which hung overhead, and heard him call over his shoulder, "Mind your head on the way up, darling..." Caroline scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Yeah, uh huh, could've used that advice 4 hours ago there, buddy..." as she followed him up, having to hold onto the railing to steady herself the whole time. She heard him chuckle, but was too preoccupied with getting up to the bedroom as quickly as possible.

When she arrived in the bedroom, dimly lit by only the lamp on the bedside table where the decanter of brandy sat, Klaus was already waiting, sitting on the bed, a freshly poured glass of brandy, sipping from it and giving her an inquisitive look. "Fancy some more, love?" he said, offering the glass to her.

"I can think of something much better..." she said as she charged at him, grabbing his face and kissing him with everything she had inside of her. All of her frustration, all of her neuroses, all of her insecurities, all of her fears, everything she loved, everything that made her happy, made her sad, made her angry; everything that made her who she was. Klaus sensed the difference in the kiss and put the glass down on the bedside table and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him until she was sitting on top of him, a knee on either side of his leg, straddling him as he sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled away and touched his forehead to hers and began rubbing her back, "Shhh shhh easy, love, easy..."

Caroline, breathing heavily, pulled away from Klaus and studied his face, taking in his concerned eyes. It was nice, seeing that shining back at her in his eyes, she couldn't remember the last time a guy looked at her like that; like how she felt meant the world to him, and event though they'd only met less than an hour ago, Caroline for some reason felt more at ease with him than any other man she'd ever been with. It was totally crazy, but she couldn't believe how quickly or how easily she clicked with him.

Once he saw that her hurriedness had died down, Klaus looked deeply into her eyes and then leaned in and placed a sweet, but strong kiss to her lips, before trailing his lips down her chin, then under her chin, down her neck, across her clavicle to her shoulder, which he unveiled slowly dragging her sweater down to expose the smooth, pale flesh that made him groan at the mere sight of before. He took his time doing all of this, and even though her breathing had slowed down, it stayed heavy as her senses went haywire feeling his lips dance across her skin. His eyes cast back up to hers as he slowly peeled her sweater off, taking the sweater off but still silently asking for permission and also giving her leeway to stop him if she wanted.

Instead of shying away or stopping him, Caroline let him peel the sweater off and let it fall to the ground, completely forgotten, and once it was gone, she moved her hands above her head. He immediately recognized the invitation to take her shirt off, and even though he was quivering with anticipation-knowing that she probably had nothing else on underneath the sleep shirt and would be half naked in front of him-he paused a moment to appreciate her and the gesture, and smiled at her warmly before bringing his hands to the bottom of the shirt.

He simply placed his hands underneath the shirt, flush against her skin and brought them up her sides, letting the fabric gather as it went up, until it was at her wrists and then he grabbed it and tossed it aside. Caroline brought her arms down and sat plain faced, waiting for a reaction. Klaus immediately kissed her, wanting to show her how much he appreciated her trust and openness to him, and he broke his lips away to kiss down the side of her face and her neck again, which Caroline let her head fall back to grant him better access to her neck, which Klaus gladly took, placing hot, open mouthed kisses along her soft skin, all the way to her shoulder, where he paused and took hold of her shoulders, lightly caressing them and rubbing them as he pulled his head back to gaze at her.

He could sit and admire her for hours, he was sure of it. She was ethereally beautiful, with her medium hair cascading loosely around her neck and shoulders, stopping just around her clavicle bone. The silky strands rested against her soft, supple pale skin which was like touching pure silk, and he admired her beautiful, perfectly sized round breasts. He let his hands fall to caress the soft skin at her waist and he said softly, "You're stunning, love..." Caroline smiled sweetly at him, she'd never had a guy make her feel as special as Klaus made her feel just uttering a single phrase and she loved how much of a gentleman he was being, it was like he was taking his time to worship her body. She gently took his hands off of her hips and placed them on her breasts, sighing at the feeling of his big, warm hands.

Klaus paused, unbelievably moved, even after her holding up her arms for him to take off her shirt, she was undoubtedly inviting him in, telling him, _I want this... please... _He gently moved his hands, caressing them gently, until he took each completely in each hand again and squeezed them gently, which caused Caroline to throw her head back and groan, which only aroused Klaus further, and he lowered his head to take one of the rosy pink nipples in his mouth. Caroline's hands flew to Klaus's hair and rooted themselves there as he lavished upon her one breast, then the other, until he moved back up to her lips and gently held her and laid her down on the bed and returned to continue his lavishing on her breasts.

Lying on her back, Caroline couldn't help but arch her back every time Klaus made the slightest little movement on either breast, wanting more of it, wanting more of him. She felt like she could never get close enough to him and it frustrated her and increased her desire exponentially as her hands trailed out of his hair and down his neck to his upper back and shoulders, equally frustrated with his sweater, which kept his skin out of touch. Hearing her groan and feeling her hands on his back, grabbing at his sweater again, Klaus paused a moment and sat up a bit and grabbed the back of the collar of his sweater and pulled it swiftly over his head, his undershirt going with it, and quickly returned back to Caroline and kissed her deftly.

The moment his sweater was off, her hands were everywhere, all over him and Caroline's moan was drowned in the back of her throat, feeling his heated skin underneath her touch. Klaus was apparently enjoying it, because he'd leveled his body with her own and was gently but firmly grinding himself against her body, which he had settled comfortably between her legs. Caroline nearly forgot her name and where she was, the stiff quality of the fabric of his jeans making his arousal even stronger and rougher against the flimsy quality of her pajama pants, but she wanted her own turn to lavish upon his body.

In a moment when his body allowed a little space between hers, she took the opportunity to push him and flip him over. It surprised him, but he loved how bold she was, taking control and allowed her to rest on top of him, their tongues still battling for control over the other. Caroline's lips, however, left his and traveled across his chin, down his neck and across his chest, which was broad and just muscular enough for her liking, and she happily placed hot, wet open mouthed kisses all over him, which made Klaus groan loudly making Caroline grin devilishly. _Oh you moan like that now, you haven't seen anything yet, hon... _she thought as she descended, placing kisses all along his abdomen, kissing each one of his abs in his six pack, but then moved lower and her hands went to the waist band of his jeans.

Klaus was completely lost in the feeling of having Caroline's lips on his skin, he couldn't believe his luck, he was sure he was the luckiest man in the world and would die happily in Caroline's arms if this is what it felt like. His breath tightened as he felt her kiss lower and lower down his abdomen but when he felt her hands go to his waistband, he immediately snapped out of it and grabbed her hands. _No way, I'm not making this about me, she's had a rotten time since she got here, I'm going to show her a good time even if it kills me... _

"Hold your horses there, sweetheart... tonight's not about me, love..." he said, holding her hands firmly and gently tugging her up to have her face parallel with his again. Caroline looked confused again, like when she was first kissing him, and she finally managed to say, "What?" Klaus laughed lightly at her obvious confusion, and rolled her over gently and pecked her sweetly on the lips again until he trailed up her chin and sucked on her earlobe gently. Caroline didn't understand. Why wouldn't he want her to go down on him? Hell, Tyler wouldn't even consider going down on her unless she did first, and here he was, stopping her from going down on him, insisting that their time together wouldn't be about him... _Have I walked into a parallel universe or something?_ Caroline wondered to herself, _I must have..._

But her musings were interrupted as Klaus moved from sucking on her earlobe to kissing just below her ear where her skull met her neck, and she blanked on who she was again... How could he know that that was her weak spot? She moaned loudly and turned her head to give him better access. Klaus grinned and remembering her reaction for later, and kissed down her neck and body, going lower than he had before.

"You're so beautiful, Caroline... You're unlike any other girl I've ever met..." he murmured softly against her skin, and hearing his sexy accented voice and feeling his lips ghosting across her skin made Caroline's toes curl. Once he reached her navel, he hooked his fingers in the waistband of her pajama pants and looked up her and he could've sworn he'd died and gone to heaven. Her golden hair fanned out on the pillow, her bright deep blue eyes gazing down at him over her luscious round breasts, her mouth gracefully turned upward into the sweetest smile he'd ever seen; this girl was truly an angel, he dared God to show him a single angel who could surpass the beauty of this lovely creature before him. He wanted to be sure she wanted him, and wouldn't go further unless she wanted to, but silently she reached down and untied the ties of her pajama pants, and he knew that she wanted him to keep going...

He slowly pulled her loosened pajama bottoms down her slender, beautiful legs, which were as beautifully pale and smooth as the rest of her body, and tossed them aside. She hadn't been wearing underwear, so he gently pressed his hands against her thighs so that she would open her legs and allow him to look at her. Caroline watched his careful ministrations with rapt attention, but swallowed at seeing his face while he was looking at her. The look on his face made her scared, but not in a way that made her want to push him off and run out of the room; his face looked hungry, ravenous even and he suddenly looked up at her and she could see the insatiable desire in his eyes and Caroline got even wetter than she'd already been.

Klaus lowered himself down her body and rested on his elbows and immediately began placing open mouthed kisses along her creamy, delicious thigh and Caroline let her head rest back into pillow and whimpered, savoring the feeling of his mouth on that lower part of her body, becoming anxious to feel his mouth on her parts. He kissed his way up her thigh, then repeated that motion on her other thigh before finally reaching the apex where he put his whole mouth on her, his tongue lavishing her, making her arch her back and call out suddenly, "Oh my god!" Klaus chuckled hearing her reaction, but wasn't letting up and allowing her arched back to distance her from his mouth, so he slid his hands underneath her, caressing her delectably smooth ass then hooking his hands over to pull her closer to him and trapping her there. Caroline was loosing her mind, she thrashed a bit, but began moving her body, meeting Klaus's tongue and grinding against him. Feeling her grinding against his mouth, Klaus took his mouth away and inserted two fingers into her, hooking them slightly, and pumping them in and out.

Caroline nearly fainted. She of course had done this before, I mean she was human and she had needs, especially Tyler stopped taking an interest in having sex she needed to take matters into her own hands, literally, but this was so much better, and hooking his fingers, he was hitting her G-spot which only heightened the whirlwind of sensations she was feeling all at once, and she moaned loudly when his mouth returned, lavishing her clit again while his fingers kept their motion. Klaus moaned, feeling how tight she was around his fingers, thinking, _Oh dear god, what it would feel like to be inside her and have her slick tightness enveloping my stiffy_, which was raging and straining against his jeans even more now, but he used that desire as fuel for his movements, and he thought, _If you've only been with bloody selfish tossers before Caroline love, then I'm going to make sure you enjoy this and I promise I will make you feel so good, as you deserve, sweetheart_.

She grabbed fistfuls of the sheets and even bit one of her fists at one moment and writhed uncontrollably and kept bringing her legs together instinctually to bring him even closer, but Klaus wouldn't allow it and kept pressing her legs to the bed, which only gave him better access and made him do even more, her constant moans and gasps spurring him on. He could feel her trembling and grinding against his fingers harder and knew she had to be close to climaxing, and he murmured, "Come on, sweetheart, come on love... Come for me, sweetheart, come for me darling..." At the sound of his voice, Caroline lost it all together, half moaning half screaming, "Oh... Oh Oh! Oh! Oh god, I'm coming... ooooh I'm coming, oh god, Klaus, mmmm Klaus!" Klaus went crazy, hearing her call his name like that, and quickened and intensified his movements, murmuring, "Yes, love, that's it... come, darling, come for me..." and his tongue played with her slit while his fingers kept moving, but he used his other hand to stimulate her clit, and that's when Caroline fell over the edge, her entire body going rigid and she didn't even try to mask her loud moans and screams, "Oh, oh! Yes! YES! OH YES KLAUS OH... YES! YES, KLAUS OH MY GOD..." and Klaus felt her clench around his fingers and felt her suddenly get even more slick, and kept pumping his fingers as she road the wave of her orgasm.

Caroline lay there, a boneless jelly like mess, breathing heavily and glistening slightly, and Klaus kissed up her body until he reached her face, which she summoned the strength to take his face in both hands and she gently rubbed his face with her thumbs, "You didn't have to do that..."

"Yes I did, love..." grinning that adorable dimpled grin that she loved, his eyes brightly smiling at her, and Caroline pulled his face to hers and kissed him tenderly, trying to thank him for unconditionally giving her such pleasure, which Klaus readily accepted, glad that she seemed to enjoy what he did, and Caroline pulled his face away and said very calmly, "Take off your pants." Klaus grinned, excited that she still wanted him, he wouldn't have blamed her if she'd called it quits after that, doing that to her had been thrilling enough, but he couldn't wait to feel that glorious tightness he'd felt on his fingers around his hard on, and cheerfully rose up and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and tossed them aside without a thought.

Now it was Caroline's turn to be speechless... she gazed upon his massive hard on and couldn't help but turn beet red again, thinking, _Jesus H. Christ, he's huge... I don't know how much of him I'll be able to take, how do I even bring this up to him? _Klaus saw the troubled look on Caroline's face and held her chin and tilted her face up and said, calmly, "Don't worry, love, we'll take this one step at a time..." Caroline was touched by how thoughtful he was being, and leaned up to kiss him. Klaus kissed Caroline sweetly, not wanting her to worry, he would only take things as far as she'd allow and he'd be happy for just that, when he broke away and suddenly moaned, her small hand wrapped around him. Caroline smiled, happy to know she had just as much power over him as he did her, and kissed his chin and slowly glided her hand up and down once, and said, "How about you let me handle this and we'll see what happens..." Klaus would've done and handstand and sang 'Happy Birthday' if she'd told him to, so he nodded, eyes still closed, reveling in the feeling of her hand touching him and Caroline easily rolled them over, so that he was on his back and she was straddling him. However, something did snap him back to reality for a moment.

"Wait, bullocks, I have a condom in my jacket downstairs, love..." Klaus said, holding her still, and scooting up into a sitting position so that he was resting on the pillows against the wrought iron headboard, his eyes telling her he wasn't about to be careless and was thinking of what was best for both of them. Caroline just smiled and kissed him, and touched his face gently, trying to smooth away the worried creases in his forehead.

"It's not important, I'm on the pill, hon..." she said simply, slowly touching her nose to his and rubbing them ever so slightly. She'd had no pressing reason to stay on it, since Tyler hadn't touched her in months, but she was glad to have her period regulated and be much lighter and consistent than it had been.

Klaus gazed up at her, believing that this strong, take charge, independent woman was telling the truth, and overcome with so many things at once; like the fact that she called him "hon" which was the first term of endearment she had used on him-he of course used terms like, "love" and "sweetheart" and "darling" all the time, either sincerely or sardonically, but when he was with Caroline, he found that those words flew out of him much more rapidly. He was also overcome with the thought of being in Caroline, nothing keeping them apart, just the two of them together. He brought his hands up to her face, gazing into her eyes and seeing her appreciative look, and realized how great they were together. They spent a moment gazing at each other, softly caressing each other and savoring the other's company, before they both moved at the same time, and they locked lips again in another slow, but wildly passionate kiss.

He allowed her to take control, he didn't want to push her further than she could go, he'd had bad experiences where he had been with women and they'd gone too fast and he unintentionally hurt women, and he couldn't let that happen with Caroline, he _wouldn't_. He'd let her set the pace, and he groaned as she started grinding against him again, her warm wetness rubbing against his hardness, but not entering her.

Caroline gasped at the feeling of his hard on coming in contact with her, and realized how long it had been since she had actually had sex. But she hadn't forgotten everything, and she confidently took hold of Klaus, which made him gasp, and she positioned herself over top of him, feeling the tip of him just begin to part her folds and she gazed down at him, him gazing back up at her with not just lust, but warmth and adoration, she knew she couldn't stop even if she tried.

She slowly slid down on him, little by little, testing herself, letting him stretch her and fill her slowly to see how far she could take him, and she moaned at the feeling of him filling her more and more and more and... suddenly she was sitting, her butt resting against his thighs, with him fully inside her. And it didn't hurt, it didn't hurt at all; actually it felt fucking amazing to Caroline. She sat for a moment, with her eyes closed, appreciating the feeling of fullness, she could feel Klaus everywhere and it felt phenomenal. Klaus's breathing suddenly was heavy too, he was overwhelmed by how good, no fucking _brilliant_ she felt around him, how tight and warm, and he couldn't believe how much she was able to take in, not just most of him, but all of him. He tried to remember the last time a girl was able to, and he suddenly became aware of the fact that he had never, in his life, been with a girl that was able to take him inside herself fully. They really were made for each other.

"You're so incredible..." she suddenly heard. She opened her eyes and felt him caressing her hips softly like he had when he'd taken off her shirt, and he had that same tender look of appreciation on his face. She took his face in both hands and kissed him adoringly, not wanting the moment to end, but she felt the urge to move and she lifted herself up to the point that he was almost completely out of her and suddenly slid back down. Both couldn't sustain the kiss because both had to gasp at the amazing feeling she just created, and they couldn't stop. Caroline held on tightly to Klaus's face as she continued moving up and down, sliding him almost out of her then sliding back home, she was already trembling, feeling her next orgasm sneaking up on her. Klaus sensed it again, feeling her muscles flutter around him, and moved his hands to her hips, holding them and helping her move, and said, "Yes... that's it darling, go on... yes.. go on, love... let it happen..."

Hearing his encouragement and support and having his hands on her hips, Caroline began moving up and then slamming her body down to his, whimpering, "Mmm harder, Klaus... uhhh harder..." and Klaus needed no other motivation, and gripped her hips even tighter, pulling her down onto him harder, bringing his hips up with each thrust. Caroline moaned loudly, her hands leaving his chest and riding up her body, over her breasts and into her hair as she leaned back slightly, arching her back and thereby arching into Klaus's thrusts. Klaus swore he'd never seen anything so sexy, which made him even harder, if that was possible. One hand in her hair and one on her breast, Caroline leaned back until she took her hand from breast and reached behind her and held one of his legs for support. The angle drove Klaus crazy, and used one of his hands to rub her clit as that finally tipped her over the edge, Caroline shuddered and moaned, and screamed out his name as her orgasm washed over her.

Caroline fell forward and rested her head on Klaus's chest as she tried to catch her breath, "That was... oh my god..." she couldn't even find the words, and Klaus laughed lightly. Hearing his laugh made her lift her head up to study his face, "How was it for you?"

"It was great, love..." Caroline wasn't buying it. He was still in her and she could feel the tension in his lower abdomen and that he was still hard.

"You didn't come did you?"

"I enjoyed myself, love, that's all that matters..." he said, pecking her on the lips.

"How are you... like hell it does..." Caroline said, suddenly very energized. There was no way that a guy was going to give her that much pleasure in such a short amount of time and not experience some himself. Caroline suddenly sat up and spun so that she was facing his feet. Klaus moaned loudly, he was still inside her, and her spinning around him felt-he lacked the words.

"Bloody hell, Caroline..." Klaus managed to get out, his voice sounding strangled, his hands gripping her hips in an attempt to get a grip on himself. Caroline looked over her shoulder and looked at him and grinned, thinking to herself, _I'm going to show you a good time even if it kills me... _and began grinding against him, rotating her hips and swirling around him. He seemed to be liking it judging from his moans and how his hands had practically never left her ass since she turn around, so she tried something she remembered reading about in one of the numerous Cosmo magazines she'd read on the plane trip over. She leaned her front down, closer to his legs, then held onto his shins and ankles for leverage to push down on him more forcefully, and the new angle felt so amazing. She hoped it did for him too, she had read this kind of position would be pleasurable for a guy, when she heard him moaning her name, she let herself get lost in the feeling too. Suddenly he started lifting his hips more and that feeling intensified exponentially.

"Fuck!" Klaus suddenly heard it, following a gasp and he was shocked at hearing the profanity escape Caroline's lips. Again, he'd been the one "bloody this" and "bloody that" but hearing it come from Caroline, now, after 2 orgasms already, Klaus knew she was an open book and it was so mind-blowingly sexy. He wanted her to do it again, so he grabbed her hips and pulled her down on him as he thrusted up harder, and he wasn't disappointed.

"Oh god, fuuuck. Fuck yes..." he heard escape her lips and he felt her hands leave his feet and he saw them grab the small railing at the foot of the bed, her knuckles turning white instantly. Klaus sat up, wanting more control, loved watching her ass bounce up and down on him, but he suddenly heard her command, "Harder... ohhhh god Klaus, fuck me... fuck me harder..." Hearing how badly and forcefully she wanted, Klaus growled, more turned on than he had ever been, and rose up, without leaving her body for a second, into a kneeling position and pumped into her as if the devil were at his heels.

It was exactly what she wanted, and she moaned when she felt his hands leave her ass and slide down her back and around her front to massage her breasts, and she felt his lips follow the path his hands had made and she felt him take one of his hands and brush her hair aside so he could lavish kisses on her shoulders and neck, which she leaned her head to the side so he could kiss more skin. He lightly pinched her nipples and kissed her right on that spot below her ear, she felt her orgasm starting, and she instinctively arched her back and reached behind her and buried one of her hands in his blonde curls and tugged gently, moaning, "Oh god, yes... ohhh oh yesss... mmm fuck, Klaus... I'm coming... I'm coming Klaus, come with me... come with me, Klaus..." and hearing her beg him to come with her made Klaus completely stark raving mad and his alpha male came out and he growled possessively of her and rose up and grabbed her hips, slamming her down onto him, his boys coming in contact with her clit and pushing her over the edge. Once her walls clenched down on Klaus again, it was all he needed to follow her right over the edge, with what sounded half like a roar and half screaming out Caroline's name.

They both were panting, Klaus still in Caroline, who was resting her head on the bed, trying to gain control of her lungs again, which felt like all the oxygen in the world could not assuage. Klaus, still panting himself, leaned down and pressed kisses all along her lower back, neither his body nor his mind believing what just happened to him. Caroline smiled, feeling the intimate kisses, and as she turned up to look at him, he gently pulled out of her and pulled her up to him and kissed her ardently. Caroline loved this, Tyler'd fuck her fast then having had what he wanted roll over and pass out, but Klaus's worship of her body didn't stop after he'd climaxed. He brought her down in his arms with her to lie on down on the pillows with him, never breaking the kiss, if anything only intensifying it.

Caroline smiled, rolling on top Klaus and ran her hands down his shoulders and back up to his face as Klaus's lips left hers and continued to dote upon her neck and throat. She hummed contentedly, and she heard him whisper softly against her skin, "I enjoy you, Miss Forbes..." She ran her fingers through his hair peacefully, "As do I, Mr. Mikaelson..." she sighed, "...that was... the best I ever had..." Klaus looked up at her proudly, and she smiled, and lightly traced the features of his face, "...I can't remember the last time I felt this way..." Klaus was so taken aback by the combination of her words and the look on her face, he had set out to make sure she had a good time here before she left tomorrow, and he knew he'd accomplished that task. But remembering that by tomorrow afternoon, hell, this afternoon, she'd be gone was suddenly an thought too unpleasant to bear and made Klaus's stomach flip. Caroline saw the change on his face from being proud and happy looking to troubled and wondered why.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly, sounding worried herself, placing a her hand on the side of his face and rubbing his cheek with her thumb. Klaus smiled sadly, taking her hand in his and placed a kiss on the palm of her hand, and a small gasp escaped Caroline's lips. She'd read about that in romance novels and seen it once or twice in movies or TV shows and always wanted someone to do that to her. He smiled at her reaction even more, then said simply, "Nothing... nothing at all love, I'm just really glad that I'm here..." Caroline smiled at him, wondering how lucky she felt right now, to be in the arms of a man that was so happy just to have her in his company, who made her feel more amazing than she'd ever felt her in life. She felt like she'd known him forever, even though it had only been for the past couple of hours. She placed a firm kiss to his lips and whispered, "So am I..."

Klaus smiled, trying to memorized every little detail: how long her eyelashes were, the curve of her eye brow, her cute little button nose, her naturally rosy lips which were even more rosy and swollen from his kisses, the way her silky blonde hair fell gracefully in her face. He kissed her again, and pulled her tight in his arms, Caroline naturally folding down into his embrace, her head resting on his chest, tucking underneath his chin. She placed a kiss to his chest before she nuzzled her head back in her little nook and sighed contentedly again. Klaus switched off the lamp beside them, pulled a blanket over them and ran his fingers along her back, tracing designs all the way up, then all the way down, he loved touching her... circles, spirals, her back became the canvas for his fingers, even though to him, she was already a masterpiece.

"Good night, Klaus..."

"Good night... sweet Caroline..."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Taking a Chance:**_ _A Klaroline Fanfic_

_Based on the movie The Holiday  
__Written and directed by Nancy Meyers_

Author's Note: First of all, I want to thank everyone who's read Chapter 1 and/or written a review (either via FF or tumblr), it seriously makes me tear up reading all your positive and constructive reviews... I had an idea, I rolled with it, and it means a lot to have so many people asking when the next chapter is going to be up, that they can't wait to read it...

Next I want to say that in regards to the writing of the first chapter, I wrote it as the Klaroline version of the Cameron Diaz/Jude Law scene because the main basis of my adaptation of _The Holiday _into a Vampire Diaries fanfic was that the Cameron Diaz (Amanda Woods)/Jude Law (Graham Simpkins) storyline was the Klaroline plot line. And honestly, I didn't think I'd be having many requests to write more, so I wrote it as a Klaroline dubbed over scene intending for it to be a one-shot, so if you're wondering why it started part-way through the movie or why it seemed so singular, that's why!

Now that I've had multiple people asking me to write more, I'm going to continue it in the chronological order and have it take us back in time a bit to the beginning of the movie where Iris finds out that the man she's in love with, Jasper, is engaged to be married. Also, it was mentioned that the dialogue sticks a little too closely to movie dialogue, which I agree it does, and that's just because it's one of my all time favorite movies and Nancy Meyers is such a great screenwriter who writes such amazing characters and dialogue, and I have my fears about messing with it too much... I did try to tailor it to the TVD characters a bit more, but I'll definitely be working on adapting it more so it's much more 50/50 rather than 75/25, which is where I feel it is now... But thank you all so much for reading, and I hope you like this new chapter!

A/N #2: I am going to be really busy for the next week or so, I just moved into a new apartment and I am assistant stage managing a show that goes up on Sunday, so this week is tech week (aka "Hell week") and this is why I wrote a new chapter since I'm going to be super busy in the next few days and since it was a holiday (unintentional pun) for Memorial Day it gave me time to write out this chapter! I hope it'll hold you off until I can write and post more!

A/N #3: This fanfic is purely for fun, I do not claim to own the premise or circumstances of the story or the characters, just the idea of meshing Klaroline and The Holiday (one of my all time fave movies) together.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_**2 days ago...**_

_**At a computer in an office building in London...**_

_I have found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said, "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinary thought. Personally, I myself have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I am more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true._

_For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert._

_Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are reading the words of one such individual. And I have willingly loved that man standing over there, in that midnight black suit and crisp white button down and silky green that flatters the color of his emerald green eyes, flirting with the Marketing interns, for over three miserable years! They have been the absolute worst years of my life! The worst Christmas', the worst Birthday's, New Years Eve's brought in by tears and valium. These years that I have been in love with him have been the darkest days of my life. All because I've been cursed by being in love with a man who does not and will not love me back. Oh god, just the sight of him! Heart pounding! Throat thickening! Absolutely can't swallow! All the usual sy-_

"HELLO? I SAY, EARTH TO REBEKAH?" Rebekah jumped, finally hearing the voice that had been talking to her and trying to get her attention, and taken off guard by the voice being so close and realized it was coming from the girl sitting on the edge of her desk.

"Hmm? What?" Rebekah answered quickly.

"I asked you if you had finished that piece you were supposed to submit to Chris almost an hour ago? You told me to check in on you to make sure you'd done it..." Carol, Rebekah's co-worker, who'd become a good friend, said, leaning over to actually read what Rebekah had been madly typing away at on her computer.

"Um... I'm not... I don't think it flows right just yet, I think I'll have to scrap a bit and start over..." Rebekah said, suddenly aware of how screwed she was. She was supposed to have her piece finished and sent in already because the issue was going to be printed first thing in the morning.

"Oh darling, you aren't seriously submitting this rubbish are you?" Carol said, skimming over Rebekah's erratic and emotional ramblings.

"It is not rubbish!" Rebekah retorted, defensively.

"You're right, Bekah... It is complete and utter crap, that's what it is..." Carol reevaluated, "you have a title yet? How about "Hopelessly Selfish Men and the Ridiculously Hopeful Women Who Love Them"? I think you'd really be on to something there..."

"Now you're just being mean... I mean for crissakes, Carol, we're not working at the The Daily Bloody Telegraph are we?" Rebekah said, deleting and editing the last bit while Carol spoke, hoping to wrap it up and make it sound more hopeful and better than what Carol had been saying, saving it then attaching it to an email to their boss, Chris, and hitting send.

"I know, I know, and Bekah, darling, you know I love a little schadenfreude as much as the next girl, but you know I'm being honest when I say that this is pathetic... here's the thing, sweetie... when you catch your man shagging a little trip from circulation, you're not supposed to 'stay friends' with him... you're supposed to throw things, break things, preferably at him... not do his fucking laundry and sit at your desk during the Christmas party pining over him..."

"I don't do his laundry! Did someone tell you I do his laundry?" Rebekah answered quickly. Carol just stared at Rebekah, not believing that that was the only bit in her speech that she heard, and shook her head. At Carol's silence, Rebekah reasoned through the laundry rumor.

"I mean, yes, I did his laundry while we were dating, but that's not out of the ordinary, it's perfectly legitimate for a girl to do her boyfriend's laundry..."

"Did he even say, 'I love you'?" Carol interrupted, with disbelief dripping from her voice. It was hard for her to believe that the great Damon Salvatore would stoop so low as to identifying human with another.

"Yes! Three, almost four times!" Rebekah exclaimed, "And when I brought up him saying it the fourth time, he said it must have been as an answer to a question, which by the way, it absolutely was not!"

Carol watched her friend justify her feelings for a selfish prick and said, "You know, I've never realized just how pathetic you are..."

Rebekah listened to the words of scathingly honest friend and groaned, "Oh god, I'm sooo aware of it..."

"No, what you need is alcohol, not a selfish duffer who loves shagging girls who look like they haven't changed their hair since the 60's, especially when they weren't even born in the 60's!"

Rebekah laughed at her friend's joke about the little trip's never-changing, middle part, pin straight brown hair, and walked with her towards the glasses of champagne which were being poured near finger foods and other hors d'oeuvres. Carol handed Rebekah a glass before taking one for herself, and just as Rebekah took her first sip, she heard her phone ring on her desk.

"Sorry, I'll just be a moment!" Rebekah said apologetically to her friend, handing her friend her champagne glass and dashing back to her desk quickly and grabbing her phone. It was a text from her brother, and she only read the beginning, "Just left Elijah's..." when she suddenly heard a soft rapping at her door. Rebekah looked up, her breath catching, as she looked at Damon, casually leaning in her doorway, watching her.

"Hi..." Rebekah breathed.

"So how is it that there is a grand party going on and you're not taking part in it?" the American's smooth voice said, as his green eyes regarded her, smoldering her soul.

"Heh, I was, I just... my phone... I..." Rebekah suddenly found it very hard to form a coherent sentence in his presence. Damon smirked and stood, walking towards her desk.

"You know, you're never going to get what I'm getting you for Christmas..." he said, his voice lowering intimately, seductively. Rebekah smiled, immediately excited.

"I got you a Christmas present!" she said brightly, as she rushed over to one of her desk drawers, pulling out a small box wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper and a sparkly gold bow and thrusting it at Damon. He gaped for a minute, then looked up at her with overly sad green eyes.

"Well, I haven't actually had a chance to go out and buy it for you yet, Bekah Bear..."

Rebekah paused, momentarily disappointed that true to form, Damon hadn't bought her a present... _Yet, he said yet..._ Bekah thought, still not getting over how he'd used his nickname he'd only ever called her when he was being really affectionate about something.

"Oh that's perfectly alright, you'll get it to me eventually..." she said, thrusting the present at him again, waiting for him to take, which he did eventually, ripping off the wrapping and seeing the name on the box, his eyes lit up and looked at her devilishly.

"You little sneak!" Bekah giggled at his reaction, seeing that he knew what had to be inside, and smiling as he opened the box and gaped at the shiny cufflinks inside.

"I found them in that jewelry place we wandered in that one time..." Bekah had said, remembering how she thought he was planning on proposing to her when he brought her in, but he had only wanted her opinion on which kind of tie clip to buy.

"Beks, these look just like..."

"...the ones Sean wore in the James Bond movie you made me watch over and over and over again? Yep..." Bekah said proudly, knowing she had impressed him. Damon just smiled widely, and then gave her that famous smirk of his.

"Wanna help me put them on?" he asked, holding them up.

"Of course!" Rebekah exclaimed, rushing around her desk to help him put the cufflinks on. Once she'd fastened both, he took both her hands and kissed both hands on her knuckles.

"How did you get to be so amazing?" Bekah blushed and looked away from his sparkling emerald eyes, regarding her.

"I'm not amazing..."

"Yes," he said, taking hold of her chin and tilting her face up to look at him, "You're one of the most amazing, and sweetest girls I've ever known, Rebekah..." Rebekah felt her heart flutter, they were so close, and the way he was looking at her, she thought he was going to lean down and kiss her. Her eyes slowly slid closed and she leaned her face slowly closer to his when they were suddenly interrupted.

"Damon, do you mind checking over this for a quick second, mate?" a male voice called. Damon looked over then looked back at Rebekah, slowly stepping away from her, rubbing her cheek gently with the backs of his fingers, as he always had when they were dating.

"I'll see you later, gorgeous..." Damon said, turning and briskly leaving the room. It wasn't until he was gone that Rebekah realized she'd been holding her breath and she took a giant breath and released her hands, which had been gripping onto the edge of her desk until her knuckles were white, and shook her head to get a hold of herself. She promptly exited her office, closed the door behind her, marched back to where she left Carol, grabbed another glass of champagne and threw the whole thing back in one gulp. Carol watched her friend, confused at her sudden change in demeanor.

"What is it?"

"I'll give you one guess."

"That wanker... I swear I'll kill him one of these days..." her friend answered disgusted, immediately knowing who had made Rebekah as crazy as she was. Rebekah reached for another glass when their boss, Chris, walked over and took that glass of champagne.

"Oh, Rebekah, did you finally submit your piece?"

"Oh yes, Chris, I did, I'm so sorry it took so long, I've been a little... distracted lately..."

"Not to worry, as long as you've submitted it... Excuse me, won't you, I have to make an announcement..." he excused himself, walking up the steps to the second level, which was open with no walls blocking and over looked the party.

"An announcement? What for?" Rebekah wondered aloud.

"Maybe we're finally getting raises... about bloody time..." Carol muttered, Bekah laughing at her friend's grumbling, and finishing off another glass of champagne

"May I have your attention please? May I have your attention please! Thank you, thank you... well I hope everyone is enjoying the party..." Chris said, smiling, "I have a very special announcement to make, regarding two of our most valued colleagues... Earlier this evening, a wedding was announced privately and I would like to introduce the newly engaged Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore!"

The room erupted in applause and cheering, except for the two women standing by the champagne. Carol's face went from shock to concern as she turned to look at her friend and see how she was handling the sudden news, and she couldn't make heads or tales from Rebekah's expression. Rebekah stood frozen where she was, blinking, hanging on by a thread and hoping with each blink that the scene unfolding in front of her would disperse and she would wake up curled up in bed in her cozy cottage just outside of the city. But she didn't wake up.

Elena Gilbert, the little trip with never-changing, 60's middle part, pin straight brown hair from circulation, gleefully skipped up to where Chris was standing, kissing him on the cheek as he kissed her cheek and turned to throw her arms around Damon who'd appeared after he shook Chris's hand. Rebekah could feel the tears gathering as Elena planted a huge kiss on Damon's lips, and she had a momentary flashback to Damon in her office not even 10 minutes ago, ready to kiss her, and a tear finally slid down her cheek, which she wiped away quickly.

Just as she wiped her tear away, Damon looked out at the crowd and when he saw her face in the crowd, his big open mouthed smile suddenly fell, looking at her sadly, and eventually looked away and began smiling again, thanking everyone for their good wishes. Carol looked at Damon's face then back to Rebekah's and without question handed Rebekah her glass of champagne, which Rebekah immediately took.

"Don't worry, love, you'll find someone better... someone who really appreciates who you are and what you have to offer him..." she said, rubbing her hand on Rebekah's back as she threw that glass of champagne back.

Rebekah knew she would break down if she stayed there one more moment and quickly relinquished her glass to her friend, and turned, saying, "I've got to go home..."

Carol understood immediately and called after her friend, "Text me or call me if you need me, love!" But Rebekah was already in her office, scooping her stuff off her desk and throwing it in her bag and grabbing her coat and scarf and hat. She hurried out, past all the partygoers, who were too busy paying attention to the handsome couple still standing on the second floor, and Rebekah was at least grateful for it creating a cover for her to sneak out.

Rebekah threw on her coat, scarf and hat as she stood in the elevator, made it all the way out of the building, through the subway, down the stony lane leading to her cottage and inside the cottage and shut the door before she broke down into heart-wrenching and soul-ripping sobs. She at least was glad that her neighbors were distant enough that they wouldn't come knocking, asking what the noise was.

* * *

Post Chapter A/N: Sorry for giving you such a sad, depressing chapter, but it needed to happen sooner or later, and I'm sad to make Rebekah so miserable and make Damon such a dick (I'm actually a huge Delena fan) but for the sake of Klaroline, I had to sacrifice my second favorite ship to make Mabekah work, which made the most sense in the story if Caroline, Klaus, and Rebekah were Amanda, Graham, and Iris...

But I hope you guys liked it, and maybe you did or didn't catch how I named Rebekah's dog Julie after TVD producer Julie Plec. Carol and Chris are actually nods to show people as well, Carol short for Caroline Dries writer of 3x14 Dangerous Liaisons and her boss Chris for Chris Grismer who directed 3x14 Dangerous Liaisons (spark of Mabekah and the infamous Klaroline dance and "I fancy you"), 3x19 Heart of Darkness (aka Tyler finding Klaus's drawing for Caroline and tender Mabekah moment) and 3x21 Before Sunset (aka Team Barbie {aka Barbie Klaus + Vampire Barbie} bonding & Klaus saving Caroline, Klaroline eye-sex, and what I think should've been a Klaroline kiss)

Hopefully I can write more later and post more tonight, but I've gotta go be productive and run errands!

-love xo,

a-little-blonde-distraction


	3. Chapter 3

Taking a Chance: A Klaroline Fanfic

Based on the movie The Holiday

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers

Author's Note: Sorry that it's taken me so long to write another chapter, guys! And sorry for that 2nd chapter, it was kinda a filler chapter, but I hope you all enjoy this one! It was mentioned that the scenes are too much like the movie, but I love the movie and it's one of my favorite movies, so I'm hesitant to start changing too much, but I tried to put a little more AU back story and history in this chapter, so I hope you guys like it! :D So without further ado...

**Chapter 3**

Tyler groaned as the annoying buzzing of lawn mowers and weed whackers woke him from his sleep. Not that he had been sleeping soundly on the couch, but he was asleep enough to be woken up. Caroline must have told the maintenance people to start at 7:00 am just to piss him off. He rolled over and grabbed his Rolex off of the coffee table beside him. Yep, 7:00 sharp. Tyler sighed and put on his watch, looking up towards the stairs that led to the second floor and their bedroom. Well, her bedroom, as of late. He learned that her locking him out of their bedroom was his cue to sleep on the couch, which was comfortable enough, but was just too short to fit his 5'9 stature.

He knew she'd already be awake, her crazy news producer schedule causing her to map out practically every minute of how she spent her day. She'd probably just work from home, as she did a lot lately, so he figured her assistants and other co-workers would be arriving soon to brief her on what was happening down at the station, TVD4, Mystic Falls' leading news station. He had to get ready to head down to work himself, having worked at FW2 for the past 5 years. Tyler and Caroline had met in high school, through mutual friends at the end of their senior year, and kept up a pseudo-long distance relationship during college, where they were both studying journalism-Tyler at Columbia and Caroline at Northwestern. Once they both got their degrees, they both ended up getting jobs at TVD4 back in their hometown, both starting off as news anchors with Caroline eventually wanting more involvement until she became assistant producer and finally becoming executive producer.

During Caroline's transitioning, that was when FW2 headhunted Tyler, offering him triple of what TVD4 was paying him, and the opportunity to be a news anchor in Washington, D.C. Tyler didn't even think twice, but Caroline never forgave him for up and leaving TVD4, especially without discussing it with her first, both as a producer and his girlfriend. Tyler sighed, thinking about it, which was what he supposed had been the beginning of the end of an awkward and long 5 years filled with many ups and downs, and more downs as of late.

Tyler walked into the foyer of their-well technically Caroline's-large, gorgeous house, which had been an old Civil War era plantation which Caroline had built upon and improved upon, making it something between a renovated plantation and a mansion. He looked up the stairs and called out first.

"Caroline?" No response. He didn't really expect to get one, but he'd tried anyway. He walked up the stairs and stopped at the bedroom door, knocked on it twice, called Caroline's name again and still received no response. He turned to doorknob, expecting it to be locked, but was surprised when it wasn't, and opened the door slowly, not knowing what exactly would be on the other side. What was on the other side was one of his sneakers, which was currently whizzing towards his head. Tyler ducked quickly, just barely missing it clocking him in the head, and when he looked back up into the bedroom, he could see Caroline standing where the sneaker had been hurtled from, the other in her hand, waiting to be thrown.

"Caroline! I'm going to say it again: I. DID. NOT. SLEEP. WITH. HER." Tyler said, trying to stay calm, but firmly enunciating each word.

Caroline laughed ironically, loving that he knew immediately what had caused her to hurtle the sneaker at him, and also knowing exactly the "her" he was referring to.

"Mmhmm, right, yeah, because you need to work with your receptionist until 3 in the morning!" Caroline said sarcastically, beginning to gather more of Tyler's things from the room, preparing to hurl it all at him.

"She wanted to hang out! A bunch of us were working on that piece about the senator, Caroline, I told you this already!" Tyler retorted, defensively.

"Hmm okay. Swear on my life you didn't sleep with her then," Caroline said plainly. Tyler had always been a terrible liar, and she knew his tell.

"Look, I..." Tyler started, his hand immediately going to rub right temple just above his eyebrow. There it was: his tell. Caroline's eyes narrowed, identifying it right away and screeched with anger, throwing the other sneaker at him, not wanting to hear any of his bullshit excuses.

"Seriously? Your _receptionist, _Tyler? I knew something was up the moment you hired her... 'an old family friend in need of a job...' ha!" she said, venomously, quoting what he'd told her when he introduced his new receptionist, a tall, slinky brunette, with dark eyes and olive skin, not so different from Tyler's complexion. She also knew if she was connected to his family in anyway, it couldn't be good. The majority of Tyler's friends (save for their mutual friends, whom she had actually become friends with first, she realized) and family had never really taken a liking to her; especially his mom, who had always thought of Caroline below Tyler and the Lockwood family, even though Caroline had earned where she was because of her own accomplishments and the Forbes were a founding family of Mystic Falls, just like the Lockwoods.

"Come on, Care..." Tyler tried to interject, but at hearing the nickname her friends and family called her, Caroline only got angrier and continued to fire off as she started snatching more of his things into her arms.

"This is _exactly_ why I told you never to get rid of your apartment in D.C., _this_ is why it was smart not to get engaged or married... deep down, I _knew_ this about you... I knew I couldn't trust you..." Caroline said, more just talking rather than expecting or wanting a response. From the start, Caroline had always had this nagging feeling that she wasn't the only girl in Tyler's life. They had started dating during their freshman year, during the beginning of their second semester. Before they'd started dating, Caroline had gone on 2 dates, both turning into one night stands, which she was none too happy about, and when they'd gone home for Christmas break, she and Tyler had run into each other at a party, and ended up hooking up in an upstairs bedroom.

The hookups, however, had continued and once they'd gone back and started classes again, Caroline let Tyler know how much she liked him and how she wanted to be exclusive. Tyler had agreed, although being 13-14 hours apart didn't make things easy, and they basically only got to see each other on breaks and over the summer. Of course they'd kept up and she did what she could to make it work given the circumstances, doing phone sex, etc. But she'd always thought in the back of her mind that Tyler was seeing girls on the side, but it'd been college, she figured that if they could it work in the real world after graduating then he would grow out of it. Nonetheless, she only starting counting years they were "together" after college, even though she had not seen anyone else during college; but including the college years, they'd "been with each other" for nearly 9 years now.

And now here she was: 26, an award winning and well paid news producer, living in the town she'd grown up in, and having to confront her cheating boyfriend.

"Okay, come on, seriously, take a chill pill, Care... once again, I did not sleep with her! And secondly, as much as you don't want to admit it, we've already been having problems for over a year now, years if you want to be completely honest..." Tyler started, walking towards Caroline.

"Ohhhh I am well aware of the problems we've been having, Tyler..." Caroline was fuming now, she was so mad, he had the audacity to try and paint their current predicament all on her, and she was not having it. "If I work a little bit too much, then I never ever hear the end of it, but if you work to much, anchor man..." she mocked, but Tyler cut her off.

"'_If_ you work too much'? Caroline, come on, you worked anywhere from 70-90 hours this year, you set up your own mini-news room in the basement, you sleep with your Blackberry. What's the point in marrying me when you're married to your job! And I don't even want to bring up sex, because I can't even remember the last time you had time for me, much less time for sex..."

"Whatever, no one has time for sex..." Caroline brushed off flippantly.

"That's not true!" Tyler immediately retorted. Caroline stared at him for a long moment before finally thrusting his stuff into his arms angrily.

"I can't believe you! You really did sleep with her... Seriously, you have to get the hell out!" Caroline immediately marched down the stairs to lead him out. "You know what? I'm realizing something... You never really loved me, Tyler, did you? I think you loved the idea of you and me, especially since it kept your mom off your back, mostly, because you weren't just screwing around, but you were in a 'serious relationship'..."

"Don't bring my mom into this..." Tyler argued, pausing at the door, which Caroline had flung open, indicating she wanted him to leave, as he was in his sleep shirt and boxers and barefoot, "And _this_, I gave _this _as much as I could... although it could never be enough in your eyes..." Caroline didn't acknowledge his answers, simply thrusting his keys, sans a key to the house, into his hands and swept her arm out gesturing out the door.

"I will send your things to you," she said simply, not asking for response. Tyler saw how serious she was, rolled his eyes, and walked out the doorway, but paused on the front step and turned back to her.

"You know this is what you do, right? You get all high strung and then you set up high standards that no one can fill, setting yourself up to be disappointed... that's just what you do..."

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. What a skeez. He was seriously twisting words and making him disappointing her _her fault_. Seriously? Caroline huffed at him, and slammed the door in his face. She angrily stomped up the stairs, hearing Tyler call from behind the door, his voice echoing to the balcony.

"YOU NEVER WANTED TO BE A REAL COUPLE! YOU'RE TOO FOCUSED ON YOURSELF AND SET IN YOUR OWN WAYS! I get a bunch of flack for moving to FW2 when I never, not once, complained about you climbing the ranks at TVD3... so you just throw grenade after grenade and this is what happens..."

"What the hell do you mean? What happens?" Caroline, suddenly on the balcony overlooking the front steps, called over to him.

"Things end! Like those guys you dated before we dated, you set up the list of priorities and it's just too much, no one can be what you need! I mean come on, Caroline, you know I care about you, there's nobody in the world like you. I just can't be what you need, and you don't want to be what I need!"

"What?" Caroline scoffed, angry and confused, not understanding what point Tyler was trying to make. "You know, I would never ever cheat on you, not under any circumstances."

"Neither would I, I mean look at me down here, I'm a mess and look at you, all cool as a cucumber... I mean what kind of girl breaks up with her boyfriend and doesn't shed a single tear... that means something, Care..."

"WHAT IS IT WITH YOU AND THIS CRYING THING? Why are you so hung up on the fact that I don't cry?" Caroline half-screeched, throughly aggravated now. "God, Tyler, it's OVER! O-V-E-R OVER! At least be honest with me! I've stuck by you for 9 years... 9 FUCKING YEARS!"

Tyler's expression changed, hearing her say that she'd been with him for 9 years. She never said that out loud, he knew she thought about it, but she always introduced them to people that they'd been together for 5 years.

"Just put me out of my misery! God, what are we doing her-" Caroline started.

"Okay!"

Caroline froze, staring at Tyler. Tyler shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, staring at the ground, then finally summed up the nerve to look up at her again.

"Yes, okay, I slept with her... There. Are you happy? I've _been_ sleeping with her, she's young and she's in love with me..." The second the yes was out in the open, Caroline's hand flew to her heart, a stabbing pain suddenly taking her off guard. She'd guessed it, and she was 99.99% sure, but it was a whole other ballgame hearing him admit the words, out loud. She pressed her hand to her chest for another second before turning on her heel and going back into the house.

"Ugh... Caroline! Look, I'm not proud of myself... Caroline!" he called after her. A few seconds later, suddenly the door opened and Caroline marched out the door up to Tyler, stopping short and planting both hands on her hips.

"Did you say, 'Am I happy?' ?" she all but shouted at him.

"Come on, you know me, I just say things, I didn't mean that the way it sounded... you were putting me in a corner..." he started to babble.

"When it comes to love, Tyler, not that I'm an expert at it, but in the world of love, cheating is unacceptable. Period. End of story!"

"No matter what you think, and I know you're always right, but this isn't all me! It takes two to tango, Caroline..." Caroline scoffed, "but when you calm down, I think you'll realize that..."

"Yeah, okay, yeah... maybe... maybe once I stop having visions of the two of you together... I will see 'your side' of this..." Caroline looked at him, disgusted and turned to leave, but suddenly turned back, looking him over, then pulled her hand back and clocked him. Tyler was stunned, and before he could get a word out, Caroline slapped him so hard it spun him and caused him to fall onto his hands and knees. Caroline growled angrily and huffed back into the house, slamming the door behind her. The second the door was closed, Caroline began a mad dash through her foyer which was a combination of pacing, running, and jumping up and down screaming, waving the hand she had used to punch Tyler, not expecting it to hurt as much as it did. She heard a throat clear and a timid voice, "Uh... Care?"

Caroline looked over and saw her friend and co-producer Bonnie Bennett standing in the hallway beneath the stairs, which leads to the basement and her in house news room.

"Are you okay, hon?"

"What? Yeah, no, I'm fine, I'm just freaking out a little!" Caroline continued to pace.

"What's going on, Care? What happened?" Bonnie asked, coming closer to her friend, determined to stop her mad pacing and get a straight answer from her.

"Tyler's been fucking his receptionist!" Caroline all but screamed.

"Did he finally admit it?" Bonnie asked, already knowing about her best friend's drama.

"Yes! And I threw him out! And punched him! AND SLAPPED HIM!" Caroline continued, still pacing.

"Wow! Okay, as your co-producer, I say, 'Bad move,' but as your best friend, 'I say, Rock on girl!' Good move and good riddance!"

"No yeah, you're right good riddance... I'm alright, this is... how did this happen?" Caroline finally stopped, coming to stand against the wall leading to the basement and sliding down it, bringing her knees up and folding her arms on top of them and putting her head down.

"Care-bear... honey, calm down, you're going to be fine... we'll work this out..." Bonnie said, kneeling down to her friend's level and rubbing and hand along her back. Caroline breathed deeply, not feeling the prickling of tears, as she guessed she should, but the short breaths of a panic attack coming on, so she chose to focus on Bonnie's soothing "Shhhs" and her hand which made a steady rhythm and pattern rubbing on her back. Caroline immediately felt better, Bonnie was always good at soothing people, it was like she had the magic touch. Caroline raised her head up to look at her friend.

"I'm fine..." she said, half-heartedly. Bonnie gave her friend a knowing look, knowing that her statement wasn't true at the moment, but it would be soon enough. Tyler had always been weighing her down, holding her back, Bonnie had always known Tyler was a lost cause. But she respected Caroline's decisions and her right to make her own choices and mistakes and promised to be there for Caroline no matter what. They'd been best friends since middle school and had stuck together even through college, which they were only 30 minutes apart, since Caroline was at Northwestern and Bonnie was at University of Chicago.

"No really, I'm cool... what's up?" Caroline said, putting her metaphorical producer cap on, knowing that Bonnie had been there for business, with her pad and pen in hand.

"Stefan needs you for a quick second downstairs..." Bonnie said.

"Right..." Caroline sighed, getting back up on her feet to follow Bonnie downstairs. Once they got to the editing room, Stefan, TVD3's leading news anchor for the past 3 years, spun around in his chair and smiled at the two women approaching him.

"Hey Caroline..." he said, with a warm smile. Caroline sighed and smiled back at him. "Hey Stefan..." Stefan took in her appearance, her flushed face and irregular breathing and his smiling face suddenly became concerned.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Caroline chuckled, Stefan being a great friend for the past 3 years, always the savior, always the protector, of course he'd want to know what was up with her.

"Yep, I am now... what's up? Is this about that city council piece we've been working on?"

"Yeah, Bonnie and I just finished editing it... wanna take a glance at it?"

"Sure, roll it..." Caroline said, plopping into the vacant spinning chair next to Stefan, Bonnie coming to stand behind Caroline and placing her hands on her friend's shoulders and massaging them gently. 13 minutes later as the show credits started to roll, Caroline turned to her friends, a smile on her face and clapped her hands together.

"Bravo! Truly an amazing job, you guys..." she said, the tone of her voice reflecting the approval of her words. Bonnie and Stefan smiled and high-fived each other.

"You don't think the beginning was too-" Bonnie started.

"No, it's perfect the way it is! I wouldn't want to change a thing! There's that one bit in the middle that I think we could just use some of that B-roll of the people walking into City Hall over top of Mom's words, but other than that, it's superb, guys!"

"Ahem, you mean, the whistle blower's words, right?" Stefan said, suddenly.

"Oh, right, yeah... I really need to get into the habit of not mentioning her..." Caroline said, blushing a bit and covering her face, embarrassed she'd outted her mom again. Almost 3 months ago, Caroline's mom, Sheriff Liz Forbes, had visited Caroline in that same news room in her daughter's basement and shared her suspicions about corruption and money laundering within the City Council, right underneath Mayor Lockwood's nose, perhaps even with the mayor's knowledge, or worse... his involvement. Caroline had been a little hesitant at first to get Tyler's father in trouble, but had still followed her mom's lead, with her mom agreeing to be a source, as long as it was anonymous, appearing in the piece with her face blacked out and her voice digitally altered, and fully agreeing to testify if enough evidence came to light to charge council members and prosecute them.

Based on Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan's findings, this story would be huge, it would probably incite a state investigation and probably snag nationwide attention, and then the Sheriff would be able to step away from being involved in the investigation and hand everything over the state police, there by saving herself from being accused of a conflict of interest. Caroline was grateful to her mom for bringing the information to her not just for the sake of justice or the attention and accolades the story would bring her and the station, but also because it showed her how much her mom trusted her. Growing up, Caroline and Liz had had a strained relationship, but once Caroline graduated college with her journalism degree and started working, she gained Liz's respect and the women began to mend their relationship. And now that she and Tyler were no longer together, Caroline didn't have a single qualm about sticking it to his dickhead of a father... she couldn't wait for Tyler's mom to hear how "that dumb, blonde trash" not only decked her precious baby boy, but took down her corrupt husband... and all in the same week.

"I hope you don't mind, Care, but I've already called your mom and she's going to stop by later today to watch the piece to get her approval on it before we run it tomorrow..." Bonnie said, gauging Caroline's reaction, fairly certain she wouldn't have a problem with it.

"Perfect! Once she approves it, I'll let the powers at be know that we're running the piece tomorrow, they've known about it for a while and we already have the OK-go to run the story, so you'll deliver it on the evening news tomorrow night, Stef..."

Stefan nodded at his friend and producer, happy she had allowed him to actually take part in the investigation part of the piece and not just being the "pretty face" to deliver the story.

"Okay... so I guess we're done here!" Caroline said, standing and walking over to the water cooler she'd had installed, taking a cup and filling it and throwing it back.

"Okay, cool..."

"Great..." Bonnie and Stefan both began to busy themselves with the other tasks ahead of them.

"Hey... how about after the story runs... we just take a break for a few weeks?" Stefan and Bonnie turned to look at their friend, both unable to believe of the words that just came out of her mouth.

"What?" they both said, unintentionally in unison.

"Yeah! I mean, we've been working so hard on this, someone in corporate, oh what's his name, the new guy they hired before we started the story... Kevin something... yeah but he mentioned that after this story broke, we'd be well overdue for a vacation..." Caroline explained, trying to wipe the confused looks off of her friends' faces.

"Yeah but, we're so busy right now, and no offense, Caroline, but..." Stefan started.

"...you're a workaholic, you never, and I mean never, take a break! Especially over the holidays!" Bonnie finished for him.

Caroline made a face at her sweet but bluntly honest friend, and said, "Well what would be a reason to get out of town for a while, and get some peace and quiet... or whatever people... go away for..." Truth of the matter being Caroline hadn't been on a "vacation" since she was 7 and her dad and mom had taken her to Virginia Beach, and her mom was always too busy at the police station to ever go again; so a vacation was, like Kevin said, well overdue... about 20 years overdue...

"No, you know what I wanna do?" she suddenly started, the crazy happenings of the morning wearing her psyche down and causing an onslaught of thoughts buzzing around in her head, which were suddenly bubbling out of her. Bonnie and Stefan, good friends that they were, knew their friend was wound like a top and realized she needed to just talk and get it all out.

"I wanna eat carbs without killing myself!" Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"I wanna read a book, not just a magazine, an _actual_ book! I read reviews and I heard the discussions on the morning talk shows, but I never actually read them!" Stefan raised his eyebrows, knowing how hard Caroline worked and that she had even less time to herself than he did.

"Did you guys read that article in the_ New York Times_ the other day? Severe stress causes women to age prematurely, because it causes the DNA in our cells to shrink, and then they can't replicate, making us look haggard! But this is just women, not men..." she said, unintentionally shooting a frustrated look at Stefan.

"Sorry..." Stefan said, not sure what other kind of response to offer up.

"Meanwhile, Tyler goes on looking cute forever and schtuping his receptionist! Oh my god..." Caroline finished, putting a hand to her forehead, then finally turned to her two friends. Stefan began to ask about Tyler, but Bonnie tapped his shoulder and shook her head, so Stefan backed off, knowing that Bonnie would explain later.

"You see? I need a vacation..." Caroline concluded, plopping back down into her chair.

"I couldn't agree more Care, no one has worked harder than you have... let me give Kevin a call, let him know about the story and that you're going to take a few days off... he should be fine with it, considering you haven't taken a personal day or a vacation since you started working here!" Bonnie said, giving her friend a comforting squeeze and dialing the exec's number as she left the room. Stefan gave Caroline an encouraging smile and followed Bonnie out. Caroline smiled back at him and then let out a heavy breath as she slid down a bit in the chair and let her head fall back.

* * *

About an hour later, Caroline sat at her computer pouring over vacation websites, after receiving confirmation from Kevin that she could take a vacation as soon as she wanted, as he said, having earned it "twice over and then some."

"Where do I want to go on vacation at this time of the year... by myself at this time of the year... alone... alone... totally... alone..." The realization that this was the first time she had been alone, without someone, in nearly 9 years. This would've been the moment to cry, and a flurry of emotions that Caroline knew the combination of should drive her to tears... but they didn't. She actually attempted to make herself cry for about 10 minutes, but after it didn't work, she busied herself again with trying to find a place she wanted to go on vacation. She set out knowing that she wanted to get somewhere outside the continental U.S. She wanted to get as far away as she could so that she couldn't be bothered, knowing that a few of the execs who were always ready to take advantage of her willingness to work and do anything for the job would try and con her out of vacation time by asking her to take a quick flight home. If she were out of the country, they'd have a little harder time bringing themselves to asking her back.

She finally found a website that sounded engaging: She perused the website a bit, looking at a few of the reviews and checking out how the site verified applicants who were both offering up their residence to exchange to post on the site and those applying to exchange from the options given. She read through the list of countries, and although she'd always wanted to go to Paris, ever since she was a little girl, she didn't know a word of French and knew that it would probably be really difficult to relax if she were living in a place where she didn't speak the language. She settled on England, never having been there either (never having really been anywhere besides Virginia and Illinois) and sifted through the cities, clicking on dozens of cities and pictures and houses. After about an hour of looking, she found an entry that she really liked and looked the most promising. She had never heard of Surrey, but she was hooked by the picture and description of the cottage.

_**White Oak Cottage**_, Caroline read. _A fairytale English cottage set in a tranquil country garden. Snuggle up by an old stone fireplace and enjoy a cup of cocoa. An enchanting oasis of tranquility in a quite English hamlet, just forty minutes from exciting London. _

Caroline sighed, thinking how it'd be nice to get away from the inconsistent Virginia weather and just hole up in a house for the holidays and relax. Christmases typically weren't a big deal for Caroline, since she rarely ever saw her dad and her mom was always at the station, busy with plenty of break ins and accidents during the holiday season. If she got restless, she was close enough to London for a quick outing, then she could snuggle up once she got back. That sounded good to her. She clicked the little icon at the bottom of the entry that said "Chat with Owner" and realized it literally meant chat, like an instant message, so she quickly began typing out her message...

* * *

_Meanwhile in Surrey..._

Rebekah had been home from the Christmas office party where Damon and Elena had announced their engagement and she hadn't stopped crying since she closed the door of the cottage behind her. She sobbed as she went about doing random things around the house, scooping out a helping of dog food for Julie and placing it on the floor for her, stoking the fires and restacking firewood, starting another pot of water for tea, when she suddenly heard her laptop trill an unfamiliar bell. She sniffled and tried to stop up her nose with a tissue as she woke her laptop back up and saw the application she had downloaded from opened on her desktop. As she started to read the first message, another popped up after it.

_**CAROLINE**_: _I'm interested in renting your house if it's available this Christmas. If it is, you could be a real life saver._

_**CAROLINE**_: _I'm sorry to be asking you so late, but if you're interested, please contact me._

Rebekah was intrigued, and let out a breath as she began typing back, and hit enter, sending her response.

Caroline hadn't expected to get a response and was happy to hear the trill of the Home Exchange instant messenger, and read the owner of White Oak Cottage's message.

_**REBEKAH**_: I'm very much interested, however White Oak Cottage is only available for home exchange, not rental.

Caroline murmured and immediately typed back.

_**CAROLINE**_: How does home exchange differ from just renting?

_**REBEKAH**_: We switch houses, cars, everything. All you pay for is your travel fare, food, etc. It's more like staying with a friend versus staying in a hotel.

_**CAROLINE**_: Only the friend isn't there? :)

Rebekah laughed as she typed her response.

_**REBEKAH**_: Hahaha well yes! I haven't done it before, but friends of mine have! :)

_**REBEKAH**_: If you don't mind me asking, where are you?

_**CAROLINE**_: Not at all! My house is in the United States, in Virginia, about 2 hours outside of Washington, D.C. :)

Rebekah smiled and typed back.

_**REBEKAH**_: Wow, that's great! I've never been to the U.S. but I've always wanted to go.

_**CAROLINE**_: Same here! Doesn't hurt that you guys speak English though, lemme tell ya...

_**REBEKAH: **_Ha, yep and to think you could've had our sophisticated accent, Yank. ;)

_**CAROLINE**_: Hey, thems fightin' words there, Brit... ;)

Rebekah smiled, liking this girl's spunk, she was funny and sounded nice.

_**REBEKAH**_:I'm just saying! ;) I'm Rebekah by the way, but my friends call me Bekah.

Caroline smiled, noticing how even though her screen name listed her full name, the girl on the other end insisted on her calling her by a more familiar name.

_**CAROLINE**_:Nice to meet you, Bekah, I'm Caroline. :D

_**REBEKAH**_:Likewise, Caroline, pleased to make your acquaintance. I'm a health nut, no roommates, non-smoker, own one dog-Julie, and single.

Rebekah couldn't help but get weepy again on typing "single," but she soon had a response from Caroline to distract her.

_**CAROLINE**_:Same for the most part! I'm really active, no roommates, non- smoker, no pets (although I love animals and have always wanted one!), and I'm single as well... newly single that is.

_**REBEKAH**_:I'm sorry, hope you're alright! I know how guy troubles go, trust me...

Caroline smiled, appreciating this stranger's empathy.

_**CAROLINE**_:Thanks, Bekah. :) I must say, your house absolutely charming. It's just what I need right now.

_**REBEKAH**_:Really? Thanks. And good! What does your place look like?

_**CAROLINE**_:My place is nice, it's a renovated plantation, so-it's a bit bigger than yours.

_**REBEKAH**_:Not hard to be. :)

Caroline laughed, loving how easy it was to talk to Rebekah.

_**CAROLINE**_: True. :)

_**CAROLINE**_: Can I ask you one thing, Bekah?

_**REBEKAH**_:Of course, Caroline.

Caroline paused for a minute, debating how and whether she should ask her question.

_**CAROLINE**_: Are there any men in your town?

Rebekah read Caroline's question aloud, and sighed. She thought for a moment. Caroline could either want to completely avoid men or go man hunting on vacation, and said she was newly single, so that also factored greatly into it. Not wanting to lie, however, or just tell her what she thought Caroline wanted to hear, Rebekah half laughed and said aloud, while she typed, "Honestly?"

_**REBEKAH**_: Zero.

_**CAROLINE**_: When can I come?

Rebekah was surprised at Caroline's immediate response. Apparently the truthful answer had been the one Caroline wanted. She thought for a split second, and then immediately typed back.

_**REBEKAH**_: Tomorrow too soon?

Rebekah waited with bated breath. She had never made such spur of the moment plans before and she'd never spent the holidays away from her family, but she really needed to just get away from it all, and she knew her family would understand, and she could be back to spend New Years with them. But the pause before Caroline's response was growing ever larger by the second, it was definitely the longest Caroline had taken to respond to Rebekah.

Caroline read Rebekah's response and debated for a moment. Were there any negatives that she should weigh in on suddenly jetting across an ocean for the holidays to spend Christmas by herself? There probably were, but all she could think about was her fight with Tyler this morning, and the look of pity on her friends' faces, and she knew she needed a change of faces and a change of scenery.

_**CAROLINE**_: Tomorrow's perfect! :)

_**REBEKAH**_: Okay! We are on for two weeks! Starting tomorrow! My number is listed on my profile, text me so I have yours and we'll give our keys to a friend to give to the other once we arrive and we'll let each other know when the other is arriving so that our friends can be ready to do the pass off, sound good?

_**CAROLINE**_: Sounds great, Bekah! :)

_**REBEKAH**_: Great! And thank you, Caroline, you said I'd be the life saver, but you really are mine!

_**CAROLINE**_: It's all good, Bekah, and thank you sooooo much! :)

Rebekah and Caroline both smiled and sighed, leaning back into their chairs, minds racing as their holiday vacations began with a running start.

* * *

_**A/N: **_Hey! So this was a longer chapter than the last one, sorry I just didn't think of much to expand upon with that opening Iris-character scene, but I hope you all enjoyed this one. I certainly had fun taking liberties with the Home Exchange chat, TEAM BARBIE OR BUST! :D I seriously think they'd be besties if they set aside their differences, like Klaus and Damon... But I hope you guys like it, I'm going to write more and post more as soon as I can! I'm anxious to start Mabekah scenes and I can't wait to write more Klaroline scenes :D And I'm dying to write real Papa Klaus scenes... Anywho, hope you all enjoyed it! Please leave reviews, either on tumblr or here! I love hearing what you guys think!

-B, a-little-blonde-distraction


	4. Chapter 4

**Taking a Chance: A Klaroline Fanfic**

Based on the movie _The Holiday_

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers

_**Author's Note:**_ Thank you all for your lovely reviews! I love hearing your comments, please keep them coming! I also hope you all liked my nod to Kevin Williamson, executive producer of TVD (who I heard is leaving, but I haven't seen an official he's not coming back-if you know where there's an official confirmation, let me know via tumblr!) being Caroline's boss... Now I'm sorry if it seems like I'm not posting a lot, I'm working 2 jobs this summer, but I'm going to try and post more often, especially since I'm going to be working full time, 7:30 am - 8 pm (ugh) after July 17th... And sorry if I speed through this or whatever, I really wanna get past exposition and to couples scenes (Klaroline + Mabekah, I'm so excited to have Rebekah meet Matt!) So, without further ado...

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Rebekah was so excited. She couldn't remember the last time she was on a plane, much less on vacation. When she had emailed her boss Chris and asked to take her vacation days, which she had accumulated a substantial amount since starting at the magazine, he said that it would be no problem at all, as long as she had access to a computer and could check her email for his notes on her piece, she would be good to return in the new year. She'd been so overjoyed, she decided to spring for a First Class ticket, and was settling in and relaxing for the 8 to 10 hour flight, sipping the glass of champagne the stewardess had given her and flipping through the latest issue of _Vogue _while she was waiting for the plane to take off. She couldn't wait for the movies to be queued and the dinner menu and wine lists to be distributed. Any trips flying she remembered were in coach, there were too many in the family to all fly First Class, and there weren't many reasons to take vacations after a few years, especially after Henrik... Rebekah caught herself before she started wandering down that sad, mindfully forgotten memory when she heard her phone beep.

_Course Klaus would text me back now, some brother he is! _she thought to herself. She'd let all of her family know that she was leaving and wouldn't be in the country for the holidays, but Klaus was the only one that hadn't responded to her messages. Elijah promised he'd let him know if Klaus didn't call her, but Rebekah really hoped she'd hear back from him before she left. She and Klaus had always for some reason or another been closer than they had been to the rest of their siblings. She went to her phone and opened her message inbox, but instead of seeing a text from Klaus, she saw the text was from Damon. Rebekah felt her heart constrict a bit just seeing his name, seeing him and Elena standing together making her eyes water at the mere memory of it. She took a deep breath as she fought with herself over whether to open the text at all or just delete it without reading it, as she knew she should, as everyone would tell her she should. But her heart gave in and she opened the text and read to herself, clearly hearing his voice, as if he were standing right in front of her:

_Heard that you're leaving for holiday on my side of the pond. _

_ First vacation in nearly a century, right? Good for you, Beks. _

_ How do I reach you?_

_ Damon_

It took Rebekah a second to get a hold of not just her emotions, but the thoughts that were racing through her troubled mind. So jokey, but still somewhat emotionally removed. Damon's game as always. But she couldn't just cut him off and ignore him. If she had wanted to do that she wouldn't have opened the text. Right? But she knew if she humored him with a response, she'd never shake him... but did she want to shake him? Rebekah didn't know if she had the strength to shake Damon, or if she even wanted to. But she had to say it, since she knew he never would. She took a deep breath so she wouldn't start sobbing in the middle of First Class, and began typing her message back.

_Dear Damon_

She quickly hit backspace until all nine letters were gone and restarted.

_Damon,_

_ We both know that I need to fall out of love with you. _

_ Would be great if you let me try. _

_ Give my regards to Elena._

She started to delete the last sentence as well, but then decided she needed to stand up for herself, at least a little, and left it in just so he'd get the message loud and clear. She stared at the message again and again, then hit send without signing it cordially or plainly as Damon had. Her phone trilled signifying the message had sent, and she let out the breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding in. She quickly turned her phone off, tossed it back in her bag and threw back the last of the champagne and flagged down a stewardess.

"Do you mind, can I take a look at the wine list now, if that's at all possible?"

* * *

_Meanwhile, on a flight coming from the other side of the pond..._

Caroline took a swig from her water bottle to swallow the two Xanax pills she'd decided to take when she put her carry on bags into the overhead compartments. She'd always hated flying, one of her bonafide phobias, and she'd gotten her prescription refilled just before boarding the plane, so she was loaded and ready. She looked over at the mountain of books she'd put beside her in her little First Class private nook and skimmed the titles. They'd been all the books she'd heard about either from talk shows, book lists, or the trailers of their movie adaptations: the _Fifty Shades_ trilogy, _The Hunger Games_ trilogy, _The Lucky One_ by Nicholas Sparks, _A Game of Thrones_, _Gone Girl_ by Gillian Flynn, _The Marriage Bargain_ by Jennifer Probst, _On the Island _by Tracey Garvis-Graves, _Abraham Lincoln_: Vampire Hunter, _Pride and Prejudice and Zombies_, _Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters_, _Wuthering Heights and a Werewolf..and a Zombie Too_. Not knowing which one to start first, she closed her eyes and chose the first one her fingers touched: _The Hunger Games_. She picked up the book and turned to the first page, thinking that maybe she could watch the movie once she was done reading the book. _God, when was the last time I watched a movie... when was the last time I read a book? When was the last time I read a book and then watched its movie? _She thought to herself, immediately distracted and laid the open book down on her chest. Then she heard her phone beep and she unlocked it to see that she had a new text message from Bonnie, and she smiled just seeing her friend's name appear.

_Hope you remembered your Burberry jacket and galoshes for jolly old England. Relax and try to have fun, Care, and don't you dare think about work. Stefan and I will hold down the fort while you're gone. Drink plenty of tea and eat crumpets and have a splendid time, old chap. ;) Love you lots, B_

Caroline chuckled a bit and thanked her lucky stars for being so fortunate to have such great friends. Her phone beeped again as she got another message.

_Caroline, I'm sad that you won't be stateside this Christmas, but Bonnie told me about you and Tyler, and honestly honey, you're due for a vacation. Use the time to center yourself and clear your head and relax-lord knows you could use some relaxation-and don't worry about us here. I bet your father will be checking up on you soon, I know you probably left word with him as well. I love you, Caroline, and I'll see you for New Years. Love, Mom_

Caroline smiled a little reading her mom's message. She knew that she'd never liked Tyler and was probably throwing a big party with Bonnie now that they'd broken up, but also knew that her mom liked to make herself available to if she ever needed to talk or just needed to hug her mom-which honestly, sometimes Caroline just felt like she needed and then she'd be fine. She typed a quick and short message back to her mom, letting her know that if the story breaking was too much to manage, she could be on the first flight home to Mystic Falls. She knew she'd be getting a message back something to the effect of how, believe it or not, there was a time when Mystic Falls was able to function without Miss Caroline Forbes, but she sent the message anyway.

As she put her phone back in her purse, she laid back down in her seat, book resting on her chest, thinking. She'd always expected that around now her life would be more in order to start planning a wedding, having kids, and moving on to that next stepping stone in her life. She was pushing 30 and knew she wasn't the type to be chasing toddlers in her 40's, but Tyler sleeping with whats-her-name-the-receptionist completely derailed whatever track she'd be on before; at least, whatever track she thought she'd be on before. She thought she'd had it all: the job, the house, the boyfriend... Now she was realizing all the things she didn't have and it sounded like a perfect candidate for a tragic heroine in a romantic comedy: the girl who's too busy working to realize she's missing her own life and it's just passing her by in the blink of an eye. She grumbled to herself, frustrated that she let herself get herself down, and put her arms over her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep.

_Are we there yet... jeez it takes a long time to cross an ocean..._

* * *

Rebekah couldn't believe it. It seemed like she'd just been falling asleep on the plane crossing the Atlantic, and now she was in the chauffeured which was driving her to Caroline's house from Washington Dulles International airport. She was lucky that she'd landed at a time when leaving wasn't amidst throngs of traffic, and meeting the driver with her name written on a sign made her feel important, like a celebrity or one of the hot shot business men who were also meeting their drivers.

She couldn't help but stick her head out the window at one point and breath in the cool and crisp Virginia air. They'd been driving for a while, Caroline said she lived around 2 hours away from D.C. and they'd been on the road for about 45 minutes and were passing through a nice wooded area and Rebekah loved the earthy smells of the trees. It was distinctly different from the trees surrounding her cottage, and it was thrilling to know she was on U.S. soil.

Another hour and a half later, the driver was pulling onto Caroline's street and Rebekah couldn't help but gape with her mouth open. Yes, the neighborhood Caroline lived in was a very nice, upscale one, most definitely old money kinds of houses with a few modest homes sprinkled in, but Caroline's house... Caroline's house was stunning. It was beautiful, it was clearly one of those old Southern plantation style houses, but it was improved upon masterfully so, and Rebekah loved the obvious improvements Caroline had made upon the design. She tipped the driver and went to greet the woman who was sitting on her trunk waiting for her. She figured the young girl waiting in Caroline's driveway was her best friend Bonnie, whom Caroline had left her keys with, and Rebekah hurried to grab her bags and things so as not to keep her waiting longer.

"Hi! So sorry I'm late, the driver took me the scenic route, those mountains are beautiful..." Rebekah apologized profusely.

"No no, don't be sorry, I got your text and it's your first time in the states and in Virginia, if you hadn't gone the scenic route, I would've been very upset! The Blue Ridge Mountains are great..." Bonnie said, smiling warmly at the young blonde with flushed cheeks standing in front of her.

"Yes they are, and anyway, hi! I'm Bekah if you couldn't already tell..." Rebekah said, extending a hand which Bonnie shook.

"And I'm Bonnie, very nice to meet you, Bekah, and thank you so much for doing this for Caroline..."

"Oh no, really, the pleasure is all mine, Caroline's really doing me the favor here..." Rebekah insisted, "...oh and before I forget, this is for you!" she handed Bonnie a brown box wrapped in a teal ribbon and bow with a little British flag tag.

"What? Oh no, please, I couldn't... you're arrangement was with Caroline, not with me..." she said, holding the box out to Rebekah.

"Yes, and we agreed that we were, how did Caroline say, "even stevens" with the swap?" Rebekah explained, Bonnie laughing, totally believing that Caroline had said that, "And you're taking the time to meet me and give me Caroline's keys, I really must insist..." She pushed the box back at Bonnie, who took it begrudgingly with a smile.

"Thank you... I really appreciate it, and you really didn't have to!"

"It's no problem at all... and I did actually... please open it..." Rebekah grinned. Bonnie raised her eyebrow but smiled and untied the ribbon and opened the lid of the box and gasped.

"How did you...?"

"I asked Caroline what sort of things you like so I could get you something and she said you were probably the biggest tea addict she's ever known, and I hail from the land of teas so it was perfect! This is actually my favorite brand of tea, it's a Rose Congou, it's a black tea blended with rose petals. I hope you like it!"

"I'm sure I will, it smells amazing!" Bonnie looked at Rebekah appreciatively, and closed the box and wrapped her arms around her, "Thank you so much..." Rebekah smiled and hugged her back, welcoming the embrace, "Of course!"

"I'm so sorry, I've gotta run back down to the station, otherwise I'd show you around the house, but if you ever need anything, just give me a holler, you've got my number!" Bonnie said, handing over Caroline's house and car keys.

"No, of course, no it's no problem, you go ahead, I'll be fine and thank you so much, Bonnie!" Rebekah said with a smile, grabbing her bags and walking towards the house. Just as she opened her car door, Bonnie paused and looked back up at Rebekah.

"Hey Bekah!"

"Yes?" Rebekah paused for a moment and turned back to Bonnie.

"I know you're on vacation, but if you'd like to hang out, I'm going out for drinks tomorrow with mine and Caroline's friend Stefan if you'd like to join us. The three of us broke a big story before Caroline left and we wanted to go out and celebrate..."

"Oh thank you, but no, I couldn't impose..."

"No! We'd love to have you, you can stand in and be our Caroline decoy... I mean you're a blond and everything!" Bonnie said jokingly, which Rebekah laughed at.

"Yes, I've certainly got that covered..."

"Please, at least think about it, you really wouldn't be an imposition at all, the more the merrier... we're just going down to the local bar, Mystic Grille... we're going to be there at around 8, if you wanna come... it's like the town's watering hole, it's just a fun place to hang out if you want a friend..." Rebekah smiled at Bonnie's kind words.

"Thanks Bon... I'll think about it and let you know... I might be jet-lagged so I'm going to settle in first, but I'll definitely think about it..."

"No of course, relax, settle in, get to know the house, and see how you feel! You know where we'll be!" Bonnie smiled, hearing how the girl had used Caroline's nickname for her and not minding it one bit. "See you later, girl!"

"Laters!" Rebekah called, waving, and dragging her bags with her.

Rebekah couldn't help be in complete awe of the stunning house before her. She unlocked the front door and stopped in the foyer to gaze around. Caroline really had great taste, the house was just stunning, and it was filled with everything that Rebekah could ever fathom needing. The living room area could comfortably seat probably 20 people; the large kitchen had a large island to seat people around and cook on and had every culinary instrument and a well stocked, french door refrigerator; the laundry room had a brand new washer and dryer and enough space to refold an entire wardrobe and a half; upstairs there was a gym with every piece of workout equipment that Rebekah could think of; and finally the master bedroom was big and gorgeous and had a ginormous bed that looked so sinfully comfy, Rebekah couldn't help but run at and launch herself into. She suddenly remembered Caroline mentioning that she had a pool and so she quickly threw her suitcase on her bed and opened, rummaging through it looking for her bathing suit.

* * *

"Miss? ...Excuse me miss?"

"WHAT?" Caroline squeaked, suddenly jolted awake and realizing that she'd fallen asleep in the back of the chauffeured car she'd hired to pick her up from the airport. Her hair was stuck up on one side from how she slept awkwardly in the backseat, and she rubbed her face, daylight suddenly penetrating her eyes once again.

"We're here..." the chauffeur said, trying to be polite, knowing he roused her from some probably much needed sleep from what the snoring in the back seat sounded like.

"Okay..." she grumbled, then turned to look out the window but frowned at what she saw out the window, which was a tiny private cemetery and she turned back to the driver and said firmly, "This is _not_ it..."

"No, actually it's just down that lane..." the driver pointed ahead to indicate the cobblestone road that lay ahead of them, "See, the thing of it is, it'll be impossible for me to turn this around at the other end... Do you... think you can make it from here?"

Caroline snorted, "No!" Before she knew it she was out of the car, with her gigantic suitcase and other bags on the road beside her, arms crossed, tapping her foot angrily as the driver sped off in the opposite direction.

_ Oh you are getting one angry call from me, stupid car service... _Caroline thought angrily. She huffed and swung her purse further over her shoulder and grabbed her bags and started trekking. And that's exactly what she was doing: trekking. She immediately became frustrated with herself for wearing her heeled boots, but then she decided to get angrier at the driver instead of at herself.

_I wasn't supposed to be walking down a snow covered, stony path in these! I was supposed to be stepping out of the car, onto a short little path, and walking up the steps and into the cottage... Bastard, at least he was smart enough not to ask about a tip, I'd have told him he's the one that should be paying me! Making me ruin these boots... Bastard... _Caroline thought angrily.

Probably around 20 minutes later, she came across a young couple walking their two dogs, and she was not happy to hear that she still had a ways to go before reaching White Oak Cottage. Another 20 minutes later, after shedding her coat and stacking all of her bags on top of her giant suitcase to lug it all at once, she came up to a small stone house and a gate and thought to herself, _If this isn't it, I'm literally going to die. I'm going to lay down on this stone path and pray that someone runs me over..._ Although she highly doubted that since she hadn't come across any vehicles of any kind, because after the first 10 minutes, she would've paid someone $200 cash to drive her the rest of the way there... The gate had a sign on it, but it was covered in snow, so she wiped it away with her glove and the words "WHITE OAK COTTAGE" appeared before her fingertips. Caroline sighed a deep sigh of relief and found herself euphorically ecstatic.

"I'm here!"

An hour later, Caroline had unpacked, showered, redone her hair and makeup, and felt 110% again. She was grateful that although the majority of the house had stylized and old fashioned fixtures and appliances, like the wood burning oven in the kitchen downstairs, the upstairs bedroom had and old fashioned looking sink and toilet, but a modern and rather high tech shower installed. It was rather funny, it stuck out a bit, but not as much as it should have, but that was because it was half blended in with the rest of the bathroom's walls. She'd never seen anything like it, and she considered herself an expert on home innovations and interior design, so she knew it had to be a custom job.

_Maybe a present or something? From a relative... _Caroline thought to herself. She remembered how her father had given her mother all new hardwood flooring in their house after hearing her complaining for almost a full year about the state of the carpets which had been installed in the house when it was originally built. It was entirely plausible, but she didn't dwell to much on that. She'd also been grateful that Elijah, Rebekah's brother, hadn't waited around to give her Rebekah's keys since she was a hot mess after lugging her stuff down the road for nearly an hour. He'd sent her a text when she'd been walking for about 15 minutes saying that he was sorry that he couldn't wait for her longer, but he had somewhere he needed to be, and he told her where he'd hidden the keys in the garden and he hoped she had a lovely holiday while she was at White Oak. She was finally settled in, so she looked around then said to herself,_"_Now what?"

She thought about the fact that the last time she'd eaten was at the beginning of the flight, since she hadn't had much of an appetite when they served lunch before landing... She grabbed the keys to Rebekah's cute little red Mini Cooper and took a second to ready herself for driving behind the wheel which was suddenly now on the right side of the car. It was the most bizarre feeling and by far the most bizarre thing she'd ever done, including that time she and her friends thought it'd be fun to go go-karting drunk, and set off. She'd Googled grocery stores, but all she'd found were little shops so she figured it was a little village of some sort where she could buy food. She really wished she hadn't fallen asleep during the car ride from the airport.

She juggled trying to follow the GPS on her phone while driving, and found herself nearly having a heart attack as on coming traffic passed her, some of them honking at her for how close she hugged the line that separated them. Once she'd arrived at the village, she stopped the car before she could do any actual damage, which she'd come close to doing more than once, both to Rebekah's car and other cars, and fixtures, and people. She gasped a bit, trying to calm her racing heart, before she finally admitted out loud.

"I need a drink!"

Before you could say, " 'Ello, guv'nah..." Caroline had a bottle of wine open and was unabashedly drinking it as if it were a soda as she meandered up and down the aisles of the tiny gourmet food shoppe she'd found just around the corner from where she'd landed in the car. She ate with her eyes and grabbed everything and anything and when she unloaded her booty at the register. The middle aged woman had first looked at Caroline skeptically, obviously thinking that Caroline would be mess, sloshing around all over the place and maybe not being able to pay the bill. But Caroline knew how to hold her booze, and when she put her YSL baguette bag up on the counter to find her wallet, the woman knew she was good for the feast she'd laid on the check out counter, and loosened up, finally laughing as she rang up multiple bags of potato chips, and said lightly, "Someone's having a party tonight, eh?" Caroline just chuckled and pointed at the lady to indicate she was spot on and took another swig from her bottle of wine.

Later that night, Caroline blissfully consuming half of her recently acquired food supply and a third of her wine supply while flipping through the British T.V. channels and shows, when she suddenly came upon CNN. Before she could wonder about how much it cost to get American news channels and other channels in the U.K., the newswoman introduced the story that they apparently would continue after the commercial break, and it was none other than the story they'd broken on the corruption in the City Council! Caroline snatched her phone up and shot Bonnie a text saying that she saw what was up next on CNN and she couldn't believe they're already getting national attention. A couple hours later, Caroline had also read half of her library she'd brought and was almost finished with watching The Notebook... again, when her mind started to wander and she began questioning if it was a good idea coming. Next thing she knew, she'd put the DVD back in its case and was already pulling her suitcase out from under Rebekah's bed, where she'd stashed it.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ So sorry if this was a filler chapter, I really didn't have anything else I wanted to bring to Caroline's story, I'd gotten most of that out during the Caroline/Tyler break up scene, so I decided to give a little more to Rebekah this chapter! I have to admit, although I can't picture Bonnie and Rebekah on Vampire Diaries together, it was fairly easy for me to think about Bonnie and Rebekah together in this universe... I hope that translated and you can see it too! I had a lot of fun introducing this new friendship (I can't settle on Rebonnie or Ronnie, which do you like more? Leave me a comment here or on tumblr!)

But technically you can read Chapter 2 through this one and then read Chapter 1, because chronologically and in reality that's what's happened in the story! :D I'm not sure when I'll be able to until then, reread this and then Chapter 4! And be comforted that in spare time when I've been struck with a lightening bolt of inspiration, I started putting the scene where Klaus (the Graham/Jude Law character) brings Caroline (the Amanda/Cameron Diaz character) home after she meets him at the pub and has one too many drinks... it's rather thrilling for me, because I used the little hints that were given as to what happened according to the movie (Amanda walks down the stairs, sees her bra draped on something and freaks out and worries that they had sex and she doesn't remember it, he says she asked him to stay overnight, she remembers she begged...) I'm serious, I had a blast writing it, it's still a work in process, but it's great... at least I think so... Anywho! Leave me comments! They're my fuel to keep plugging along...

Oh and P.P.S. I'm going to visit my friend next weekend at the beach, so I'm going to be on a train for 8 hours going down on Thursday and 8 hours coming back on Sunday, so who has 16ish hours to crank out as much of this fanfiction as she can? *points thumbs at self* Anyway, _LEAVE COMMENTS! I BEG YOU!_ Also if you want to see the purse I mentioned Caroline having, check my tumblr! I think I'll try to piece together outfits I've been envisioning them in, especially Caroline, and post them so check my tumblr, same name as fanfiction, for updates!


	5. Chapter 5

Taking a Chance: A Klaroline Fanfic

Based on the movie _The Holiday_

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers

**Author's Note:** Hi guys! So I thought I'd put up this chapter before I'm traveling on Thursday, and then I'll really be focusing in on writing as much as I can going there and coming back! Hope you guys like this! (And like I said at the end of "Chapter 4," the order really goes: Chapter 2, 3, 4, 1, 5... and I'll be keeping it in order from here on out...

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Caroline murmured as she started to stir from her sleep, starting to see sunshine in the bedroom through her eyelids. She moved her arm from the pillow she'd wrapped it around and stretched, feeling contented like a cat stretching in the sunlight. Suddenly she heard a sleepy groan and her eyes flew open. She realized it wasn't a pillow she'd had her arm wrapped around. It was a man, and she remembered it was Klaus, Rebekah's brother that had show up during the wee hours of the night. And he was naked. At least from the half up, with the blanket bunched up around his waist. Caroline didn't want to venture to check, but she knew he most likely was naked, considering she herself was naked, so she put two and two together. Everything that had happened the night before came rushing back to her all at once, and feeling a bit overwhelmed, she pushed away from Klaus and laid beside him trying to gather her thoughts. Almost sensing her absence, Klaus stirred a bit, and Caroline held her breath, praying that he wouldn't wake up and make her have the awkward morning after talk while they were still both naked. Instead of opening his eyes, Klaus sighed heavily and rolled over onto his left side, facing Caroline, and still continued sleeping. Caroline took a deep breath, feeling extremely relieved, and rolled over onto her right side to face Klaus to look him over.

He had slight scruff around his face, Caroline remembered it from his kisses down in the living room and she shivered again and got goosebumps just remembering how exhilarating those tender, calculated kisses on her face were. His lips were naturally rosy and supple and looked so inviting and kissable, Caroline had thought that even before they'd kissed when she was sizing him up as he stood on the porch. His dirty blonde hair was short, but not too short. It had been just the right length for Caroline to bury her fingers in last night, but now she got to really appreciate the adorable way it was wavy and slightly curly and she almost giggled wondering how it might be curlier if it were longer. He looked to be around her age, maybe a bit older, probably 30 or so, he'd said he was Rebekah's older brother, and Rebekah was her age so he had to be around that. It made her wonder if Klaus was the eldest, or if Elijah, Rebekah's other "older brother" whom she was supposed to have met to get Rebekah's keys, was the eldest. Did they have even more siblings? Caroline groaned inwardly when she realized that she'd hooked up last night with a man she barely knew; hell, she didn't know him at all, all she knew was that his name was Klaus and he was Rebekah's brother.

But she'd enjoyed every bit of his company last night, still unable to understand how easy it was to be around him even though they'd only met for the first time that night. But it was something about his face, and it wasn't just that it was handsome and attractive, especially his smile; but it was something in his beautiful sea green eyes and how they seemed to stare down to the very bottom of her soul and back, and the way they admired her and discerned her, it made her feel like she was a beautiful painting, or a stunning landscape or something. And she really liked that. Caroline ignored the naysaying voice in the back of her mind and allowed herself to reach out her hand and gently caress Klaus's cheekbone, and Klaus in his sleep moved his face towards her hand, and Caroline pressed her palm to his cheek and rubbed his cheek with her thumb like she had the night before. Klaus turned his face into her palm more and a little smile spread on his face while he slept. Caroline smiled, seeing his sweet, close lipped smile making her feel very happy. Around Klaus, she felt really happy and she liked feeling like a beautiful painting, and feeling stunning. But not just that, she really liked him too. And that was suddenly too much to think about, especially since she was leaving today. Today.

_OH MY GOD, WHAT TIME IS IT?_ Caroline thought, suddenly jolting up with the rush of adrenaline and snatched the clock off of the bedside table, but then immediately breathed a sigh of relief as she saw that it was only 9:37, and her plane wasn't due to leave until around 1 o'clock, but that did mean she'd have to get ready to go, she'd need to be there 2 hours before the flight so she could get through security, get her bags checked, and all those other necessary travel procedures. Caroline carefully slid off the bed, not wanting to wake Klaus up and see her ducking into the bathroom naked, she knew she needed to shower, but he didn't move an inch and she was once again grateful that he slept like the dead. She figured that even if he woke up to the sound of the shower, he'd at least get clothes on before talking to her. Maybe he'd just duck out while she was showering, knowing that she was leaving today anyway. As Caroline lathered up and washed her hair, she realized she was dreading getting out of the shower, and she was dreading it because she didn't know what she'd do if she got out to find an empty bed and an empty house.

When Caroline got out of the shower a couple minutes later, she peeked out of the bathroom door, afraid that she'd walk in on him fully naked, half naked, or in some state of undress, but she found Klaus exactly where she'd left him, although his arm was outstretched to where she'd been lying on the bed facing him. She smiled, seeing that if she were still there, his arm would've draped across her waist, but she snapped herself out of her gushy moment and gathered some clothes and quickly got dressed in the bathroom and since he was still asleep, she tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen to get some coffee made. She should at least do that, she knew whatever leftover food she had was not suitable breakfast food, then again she didn't even know if he'd want to stick around long enough for food or even coffee so she busied herself with just trying to make the coffee. She was happy that Rebekah had a coffeemaker, she'd been under the misconception that since she was British, she only drank tea. She knew from the assortment of teas in Rebekah's cabinet that she mostly drank tea, but she at least owned a coffeemaker and she had fresh coffee grounds, so Caroline thanked her lucky stars for that. But she didn't know if Klaus drank coffee or tea so she decided to make both, just in case.

Klaus suddenly stirred at the sound of a kettle whistling, and he heard it end abruptly and the soft murmur of a voice and what sounded like cursing, and he groaned sleepily as he stretched and opened his eyes. He realized he wasn't in his bed at home, instead he was in his sisters bed, naked. Klaus began to remember what had happened the night before and realized he'd slept with an American woman who'd switched houses with his sister, hence why he was naked in his sister's bed. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty about that, but then he smirked, thinking how much Bekah owed him, all those nights she snuck out of the house to meet with they boy their parents hated and he covered for her, and numerous other occasions that he knew the slightest mention would shut her up instantly if she decided to give him hell for this.

But the one thing he'd realized the moment he remembered the previous night was the suitcase that was standing by the door to the bedroom; and he did feel guilty about that immediately. He remembered how stunned he was last night when Rebekah's door opened and Caroline was standing there, looking scared and stunned herself. He thought she was absolutely beautiful and had so much light radiating from her. He never would have believed you if you'd told him while he was tossing back drinks with his friends at the pub that in a few hours he'd meet a truly stunning stranger at his sister's house and end up having the best sex since... he couldn't even remember when. Last night in the living room, she said that her last boyfriend said she was "bad at sex" and he couldn't believe that some nutter would say something so bloody inaccurate and rude to Caroline. She was probably the best he ever had, so her last bloke must have been too full of himself or shagging another girl on the side to say that to her. He was a little foggy on the details since he'd been drinking, but he vaguely remembered her saying something about living with this wanker. He'd only been tipsy so he didn't remember parts of their conversation, but he basically remembered everything, and he especially remembered being with her. Klaus decided to shake those thoughts so that he didn't suddenly get aroused and have Caroline discover him awake and... yeah well, knowing his luck, that would happen, so he dressed quickly and decided to seek out the radiant blonde that consumed his thoughts. He trotted down the stairs and grinned seeing her hunched over the coffeemaker and cursing quietly at it, obviously having trouble getting it to work.

Caroline was cursing Rebekah for not owning a simpler coffeemaker and cursing herself for her stupidity at not being able to get it working, when she heard a chuckle and the husky accented voice that had made her toes curl...and were still curling her toes.

"Good morning..." Caroline turned and saw Klaus standing leaning against the edge of the wall leading into the kitchen, grinning at her that grin of his. It both infuriated her and

enchanted her all at the same time. Caroline unconsciously cast her eyes down at the floor, and she cursed herself for her shy reaction and forced herself to look back up at him.

"Morning..."

"Do you need a hand with that?"

"Oh, no, I'm sure I can..." Caroline said, turning back to the coffeemaker, unwilling to let it get the best of her. _Seriously? Can you look more like a fool in front of this man, Caroline? _she thought to herself.

"It's just that I've never seen a machine like this before, it's nothing like my one at home... Whatever happened to the simple Mr. Coffee?" she muttered, not really caring if he heard her or not, her focus and frustration back on the irksome machine in front of her.

"Here, allow me..." Klaus said, suddenly reaching around her. Caroline stepped to the side, allowing him access to the coffee machine, and when she looked up at him, he was wearing glasses, and she was surprised. He must have put them on when she turned her back.

"You wear glasses?" she said, the words flying out of her mouth before she realized it. Klaus just smirked as he worked on setting up the machine.

"Yeah, well, not all the time... I usually wear contact lenses, but I didn't take them out last night... obviously..." he looked over at Caroline and gave her a knowing look, Caroline chuckled nervously and looked away, blushing, then said, "...so they fell out while I was sleeping, so it looks like it's glasses for now until I get back home... although I might just stick with these to give 'em a rest..."

"Oh... well... that makes sense..." Caroline said, trying to find something to say, since she wouldn't let herself say out loud what she was thinking: that he looked great with glasses. Klaus just smirked at her, then looked the machine over until he realized what the real problem was for Caroline, and held up the plug for the machine and looked at Caroline, still smirking his dimpled smirk. Caroline looked at the plug in his hands and tried to play it off and be funny.

"Ohhhhh... you're supposed to _plug them in _over here!" she said with a mock surprised and enlightened tone. Klaus just chuckled and went to plug it in, and when he looked away, Caroline rolled her eyes at herself and covered her forehead with her hand and scrunched her eyes, cursing herself. _Nope, there's absolutely no way you can look like a bigger fool right now... _she thought. She ran her hand through her hair and sighed. Klaus turned away from the machine and sat back against the counter and rested his hands on the edge, looking at Caroline. Caroline just smiled at him, then began swinging her arms, bringing her hands together and releasing them. She didn't know why she was doing it, other than she didn't know what to do or say and she was waiting to see what he would say next. Klaus watched her and didn't say anything, expecting the verbose girl he remembered from the living room last night to speak first. The result was an awkward moment of quietness, which both immediately decided to fill with a chuckle, which unintentionally added a new layer of awkwardness. As it became quiet again, both began gathering their thoughts, trying to put together what they wanted to say. Klaus started to speak.

"So, Caroline, I just, I..."

"Listen, it's fine, you don't have to worry about a thing here... okay?" she said, cutting him off. Klaus paused and just looked her over quizzically then stopped, seeing that she had something to say, so he allowed her to explain further.

"Okay..."

"I mean it was great... um... meeting you and everything..." she started, not sure how to address the fact that they had sex, so she decided to generalize.

"Oh, definitely!" he said, agreeing gladly, "Also for the record, your ex-boyfriend is—in my opinion—extremely mistaken about you..." He decided to say what he'd been thinking since he woke up. And even though he hadn't meant to embarrass her, as he obviously had by the way she started blushing, he couldn't help but enjoy the lovely way her cheeks became rosy and it blended into her beautiful, smooth porcelain skin. Caroline decided to chuckle and shrug off his claim.

"Yeah... well... you were drunk..." Klaus made a face, then smirked and squinted his eyes, acknowledging what she was trying to do, but not wanting her to get off that easy, and not wanting her to think that he didn't remember and appreciate what happened between them last night.

"Not that drunk..." Caroline just rolled her eyes and laughed and just tried to act like she didn't believe him, although deep down she knew he was right. After he sat down on the couch, he regained his balance and wasn't clumsy and he had been clear enough of mind to realize he didn't have a condom with him in the bedroom. But letting him think she didn't believe him was the easier option, so Caroline chose it. And since she'd chosen that route, both decided to chuckle, but their awkward banter was interrupted by Klaus's cellphone that he'd left of the table. It started ringing and Klaus went to get it, and since Caroline was closest she reached for it to pass to him.

"It's Ettie..." she said, glancing at it, reading the name and passing it along, and when she saw his surprised expression, she winced realizing what she'd done and immediately apologized, "...sorry, I didn't mean to look... bad habit, sorry..." Her hand flew up to cover her face as soon as the phone was in his hand. He looked down at the phone, then back to her and pressed a button.

"I'll call her back," he said, nonchalantly. He didn't want to be awkward and rude and take a phone call in front of Caroline, so he moved to put his phone back in his coat pocket, and Caroline took it as an opportunity to turn away from him and roll her eyes at herself and curse herself again for making things more awkward than they already were. _What did you seriously think there weren't other girls, Caroline? He said last night he kisses strangers all the time, he wasn't exactly trying to hide his intentions from you... _Caroline argued with herself. She busied herself trying to find mugs or cups in the cabinets and suddenly she heard Klaus clear his voice behind her and she turned to see him holding out a cup. She gave him a small smile and took it and thanked him, but then realized he didn't have a cup for himself.

"You don't... want one? I uh, made tea too, just in case! I didn't know which you'd prefer..." she said, gesturing to the kettle.

"Oh, no, thanks, that's really nice... but I should probably get going..." he said, although he sounded hesitant and reluctant, he'd already had his coat in his hands, and Caroline tried to mask the disappointment on her face. She reasoned with herself then said quickly.

"Oh, yeah... you know, I've gotta get going in a few minutes myself anyway..." she busied herself and poured herself a cup and poured a bit of milk and sugar and stirred it quickly and took a sip. When she started to fix her coffee, Klaus realized her abruptness was disappointment that he was leaving and he didn't want her to think he was jetting out to avoid her, so he took that as an opportunity to acquit himself and explain.

"Listen, I know you're leaving, and absolutely not interested in getting involved..." he started, and she listened and watched him, peering over top of her coffee cup, "but just so you know... things in my life are a bit complicated, and even if you were staying... I can promise you..."

Caroline wasn't liking the sound of where this was going, it sounded like bad excuses the morning after a one night stand, the whole "it's not you, it's me" bit, so she decided to cut him off at the pass.

"You really don't have to do this..." Klaus paused again, wondering what caused her to interrupt him again, and listened, "Look, I'm sort of a mess myself in this area, and I mean honestly, we hardly know each other..." she said with an understanding and forgiving tone. Klaus realized she was trying to give him an out so he wouldn't have to acknowledge that he'd had sex with her and was now leaving, but he got caught on the last part of her speech and couldn't help but reaction.

"Well... I wouldn't exactly say _that_..." he said, his eyebrows raising as he spoke, and she couldn't help but blush again, and he smiled and chuckled when he realized she was just trying to stay as vague and general as possible, and him bringing up the fact that they'd been intimate was what was making her blush. He took her silence as an opening to clarify what he'd been trying to say before.

"But I just want you to know that you're, you're better off... I'm... I've got..." he suddenly struggled to find the right way to say what he wanted to say, but Caroline understood his meaning.

"Okay," she said, with a sense of finality which Klaus picked up on and made face and laughed.

"Right... no need to go on... Right, well..." he grabbed his keys and started towards the door, but paused, "I just wanted to be sure you're okay because somehow... I find... I tend to hurt women by simply being myself..." Caroline knew he was trying to be a gentleman after a one night stand, and she realized she didn't blame him, she was the one who'd propositioned him the night before, she had no doubt he would've stayed where he was on the couch in the living room if she'd rejected his single advance, that kiss—which to be honest, she remembered him being surprised as well, so she didn't believe it had been a calculated move to try and get in her pants, but more an unconscious reaction he had to her.

"I'm not going to fall in love with you... I promise..." she said, in the most reassuring tone she could manage.

"Okay! Well... nicely put!" he said, sarcastically, laughing off Caroline's reassurance, and she continued, wanting him to understand what she'd meant.

"No, no... it's just that... I.. I know myself, and I don't think I really fall _in love_... at least not like other people... I mean I thought I was in love with Tyler, but I don't know... I just..." Caroline sighed, deciding to just let what she said stay and finished, "How about that for something to admit?"

Klaus just smiled sadly, looking her over, appreciating how candidly honest she was with him, just like she was the night before, and said, "Well, like I said... 'the most interesting girl award'..."

Caroline made a face, but smiled and said, "I'm going to try to see that as a _compliment_..."

"You should... Absolutely..." Klaus said softly, with that same tender face he always seemed to look at her with. _Damn that tender face_, she thought. She gazed back at him, feeling like that painting or landscape again, but couldn't find the words to say, so she just cast her eyes back down to the ground and Klaus took that as his cue to leave.

"Okay... well..." he said, holding up his hands as if he wouldn't trespass any longer and walked to the door, pausing at the coat rack and taking his peacoat down, and his face looked contemplative as he put on his coat and said, "_Utter honesty_... it's very refreshing..." Caroline just smiled, and Klaus continued.

"So, you probably won't be hearing from me because... even if you wanted to, and you clearly don't, I have that classic male problem of 'no follow through'... I absolutely never remember to call after a date..." he'd meant it lightly to be funny, but when she didn't react, he tried again, making a funny face and gesturing to her, "...but this wasn't a date exactly was it?" She realized what he was doing and she laughed and just waved him off.

"Exactly..." he smiled back at her, but his smile suddenly faded. Instead of walking out the door like she expected him to at that moment, he stood facing her, then suddenly crossed back towards her.

"But what if I did want to call you?"

Caroline heard the honest eagerness in his voice and turned her face away, not sure how to respond. She thought about her plane and didn't know how much good it would do to give Klaus her phone number when she'd be on a plane back to the U.S. in a couple of hours. She tried to think of something nice to say when she realized wanted to give him her number, but knew how impractical it was, and Klaus decided to give her the out in that instant, not wanting her to feel like she had to give him a response.

"Right, apparently not the right thing to say at all..." he joked, and she made a face at him to let him know it wasn't that, but he decided to put the ball in her court and just leave it at that.

"Well... if your flight is canceled or if you change your mind about leaving, for whatever reason..." he added, not wanting her to think he expected her to stay for him, although he wouldn't be opposed to it, and said, "I'm meeting some friends down at the pub for dinner tonight..." When she nodded but didn't say anything, he realized they were actually at good-byes.

"But if not, then... well..." he started, but then he couldn't bring himself to say it, he just lacked the ability to form the words to say good-bye to Caroline, so he tried to think of something else to say that could serve in its place. Something he wanted to say to her before he possibly never saw her again, and he gazed at her, trying to find the words amidst the sudden sadness he felt, and suddenly he heard himself say, "You are lovely..."

Caroline gazed back at him, touched by his thoughtfulness and his sweet declaration. He was truly one of the most amazing guys she'd be fortunate enough to meet, much less be intimate with, and she became acutely aware of how sad she had suddenly become when she realized that this was his good-bye, and she also realized how grateful she was that she wasn't hearing the actual words come from him, and that this was better, almost perfect in a way. It was so true to him and she knew she lacked words that could better his, so she decided to return the sentiment.

"So are you..." she smiled sadly at him. She remembered telling him last night that she couldn't remember a time she felt so content, but she hadn't said content, and he'd smiled but then his smile faded away, and she picked up on the change immediately. She thought he misunderstood her meaning, like she was declaring her love for him or something, so she asked him what was wrong, but he said he was just really glad he was with her. She felt so appreciated, something she hadn't felt from a guy in a while and she knew she was just as grateful as he was, if not more, and he knew his declaration, calling her "lovely" was completely sincere, so she wanted to let him know she was just as sincere.

Knowing she understood what he was trying to stay, and not wanting to delay her even further, Klaus smiled sadly at her then turned to walk out the door, hesitated a moment with the door open and threw her back one of his big dimpled smiles and then left closing the door behind him. Caroline let out a deep breath and suddenly realized she wasn't in the mood for coffee anymore, and dumped the rest of it down the sink and placed the cup in the sink and headed upstairs to get her suitcase. She decided to call a cab since the chauffeured car was booked for the end of the vacation and she didn't feel like going through the hassle of canceling it right then.

Before she knew it she was at the security checkpoint and the security guard was checking her carry on, and as she waited, Caroline's mind began to wander. She wondered what Klaus was doing right then. Was he with another woman? Had he jetted off to meet up with Ettie, the woman who called him? Even if she did stay, did she want to get mixed up with someone when she'd just be prolonging her departure?

_I mean, I have to go back eventually... _she thought to herself,_ I can't just pick up and leave Mystic Falls... I have the house, my car, my job... and I couldn't leave all my friends and family... no this is doomed to be just a holiday fling... But what's wrong with that? I mean he did invite me to dinner... and that's more than just a fling... that's like a date... and there's nothing wrong with having a little fun and then leaving, he knows that I'd have to leave and he obviously has no problem with short term trysts... _Caroline suddenly heard in her head as if Stefan were delivering the headlines for the evening news: _**Young career woman down on love unexpectedly finds it while on holiday in the U.K.: Will she embrace it or is she doomed to repeat the same mistakes in her love life forever? **_Caroline frowned as she heard the words and cursed herself. _Seriously, Caroline? Did you just say "love"? What the hell is wrong with you? You even told him 'you don't fall in love'... seriously, Caroline, seriously?_

"Okay, mum, you're all good to go..." the guard said, interrupting Caroline's daydream, and she quickly cleared her throat and took her bag off the table.

" 'Kay, thanks..." she said, pulling her back with her suitcase away from the security checkpoint and towards the terminals. However, Caroline did realize she'd stopped until someone unexpectedly and unintentionally bumped into her, apologizing quickly and kept walking, and that's when she realized her feet hadn't been moving. Caroline looked back at the security checkpoint and the doors leaving the airport just beyond them, then back at the terminal, and she was suddenly chewing on her nail, drumming her other fingers on the handle of her rolling suitcase.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So how'd you guys like it? For those of you who haven't seen the movie I wanted to do a bit of a cliff hanger, but I mean how much of a cliff hanger is it really? I mean Caroline can't go home yet... right? ;) Any who, I was so excited to write another Klaroline scene, and now we're gonna shift back to VA and check in on Rebekah... and who knows who she'll meet if she goes down to meet Bonnie and Stefan at the Grille... ;)

For those of you who have seen the movie The Holiday, let me know what you thought of this chapter. I tried to adapt it to Klaroline as much as possible, I'm just such a huge fan of the movie I didn't want to alter the dialogue too much, it's so good the way it is, I think it's so natural and real and awkward and cute and in my head I could totally hear the words coming from Joseph and Candice :) READ AND REVIEW PLEASE! I love getting comments and feedback!

_**xo a-little-blonde-distraction**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Taking a Chance: A Klaroline Fanfic**

Based on the movie _The Holiday_

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers

_**Author's Note:**_ So here's my first chapter that I'm attempting to write while riding on a train! KLAROLINE SHIPPING TRAVELS THE EAST COAST! Man, I'm glad I don't get motion sickness, this train is wobbling back and forth more than any other train I've been on... ANYWHO! Without further ado...

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Rebekah yawned and stretched but then burrowed back into Caroline's deliciously comfortable down comforter and sheets and curled up into a ball, swaddling herself in the blankets and sheets. She had one of those cushiony pads on top of an already comfortable mattress and Rebekah loved it; it felt like sleeping on a cloud. She peeked her eye open and looked at the clock on the bedside table and saw 4:27 P.M. flashing at her at the base of the CD Player Radio Alarm Clock. She murmured happily feeling well rested and totally refreshed. She had arrived in the U.S. then got to Mystic Falls yesterday in the early evening, so she explored the house, thrown her bathing suit on and jumped in Caroline's pool as fast as she could. After an hour or two of swimming and relaxing in the hot tub, she came back inside and whipped up a little bite to eat, she had eaten a full meal on the plane and she never really ate a lot to begin with, when she suddenly felt very jet lagged and counted quickly and realized that it was 1 A.M. in London, so she decided to go to sleep and see how she felt afterward. It felt like a 15 minute nap and not almost a full day of sleeping, but Rebekah had never felt better.

She opened both eyes and sat up a bit to push the play button on the clock, wondering what music would start playing, hoping it wasn't something too tranquil that would lull her back into another coma. Some upbeat alternative kind of rock song started playing and Rebekah smiled from ear to ear, thinking, _That's the ticket... Thank you, Caroline!_ Rebekah felt so awake and alive and happy, she couldn't help but push the covers off of her body and proceeded to dance on the bed while lying down until she finally pulled herself up and grabbed one of the goose feather pillows to use as a guitar and she started rocking out and letting loose. She laughed as she tossed her head around, long tangled blonde locks flying, until her fun was interrupted by the ring of her cellphone. She ignored it for a couple seconds and continued to rock out until she finally couldn't ignore the trilling through the music, and she tossed the pillow back to the headboard and stopped the music before grabbing her cell.

"Hello...?"

"Hello yourself..." the cheeky voice on the other end responded, she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. Rebekah's smile faded as she sat up straighter in the bed.

"Damon!"

"Is it okay that I'm calling you right now?"

Rebekah bit her lip and conceded, "Um... sure, I guess so... how are you?"

"Can you start with an easier question?" Rebekah chuckled, thinking he meant it as a joke, but when he didn't laugh and she didn't hear any kind of response, she immediately got worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm... I'm just having trouble with this part of my book... I just feel like it's ridiculous and don't know where this chapter is going... and I mean... you always seem to know just what to do or what to say... I could just use some Beks right now..." Rebekah froze. Was he really doing this? Was he really doing this right now? He wanted her to read some of the book he was writing on relations between the U.S. and the U.K. post-9/11? While she was on holiday? Rebekah motioned up with her hand exasperatedly before putting it on her forehead as she mouthed her frustration silently to the phone as she let Damon whine on and on about his writer's block.

"Would you mind if I sent you the pages? I don't want to take away from your vacation, but it would mean a lot to me if you looked them over... You're the only one who can ever really help me..." Rebekah softened hearing him admit that he needed her that she was the only one that could help... that she was _the only_ for anything was nice to hear, and Rebekah folded like a card.

"Hm... well... I mean, if you _need_ me..."

"My savior, as always... you're an angel, Beks..." Rebekah let out a breath and chuckled modestly.

"So... Beks... have you put on that little green bikini yet? You know... the one that unties at the back of your neck?" Damon said, his tone suddenly going from whimpering and pitiful to seductive and heady.

"How do you remember my little green bikini?" Rebekah said, shocked at the sudden turn of conversation and immediately blushing. He had to be talking about that one year they played hooky from work and went to that beach in Sussex for the weekend.

"I remember everything about us... especially that little bikini..." his voice was lower and Rebekah shivered and smirked, remembering how he had been insatiable and he barely made it into the cabana he dragged her into before he ravished her.

"Oh do you?" she said, quirking an eyebrow, "...you know I was thinking the other day about that time we..."

"There you go, keep the change!" Damon's voice suddenly interrupted, and Rebekah paused and listened more closely and she realized he'd completely tuned her out and was getting out of a cab somewhere. He didn't call her in order to talk to her, he called her while he was running errands... to give her another errand... while she was on vacation! Rebekah sank back into the copious amount of pillows between her and the headboard and sighed. _Nothing ever changes..._ she thought unhappily to herself.

"I swear it is the coldest it has ever been since I've been in the U.K. today... even you wouldn't believe it..." Damon said.

"Hmmm..." Rebekah simply murmured, knowing her response wouldn't be heard and didn't matter.

"Okay, so I'll send you the pages, will you keep an eye out for them and let me know when you've read them?"

"Uh huh... yep... yep..." Rebekah said aimlessly, getting out of bed and going over to her suitcase to rummage around for her running clothes.

"Great, okay, I'll talk to you later, have some fun! But not too much..."

"Mhmm, yep, okay... okay..." she muttered, already checked out like he had before. She hung up the phone, and put on her running clothes quickly, threw her hair up into a ponytail, threw her keys and phone into the Kenneth Cole fanny pack her ex-sister-in-law Mary had bought her for Christmas a couple years ago. The fanny pack had lasted longer than Mary and her brother Kol's marriage, but Rebekah was grateful for the gift. She was big into running and it was extremely useful for that, and she had been surprised Mary actually put that much thought into a gift for someone other than herself or Kol, but she didn't question it. Her sneakers were laced in an instant and before she knew it, she was out the door and down the block.

Whenever she got frustrated, or angry, or sad, or really any emotion that overwhelmed her, Rebekah found running to be alleviating and therapeutic. She would alternate between jogging, running and sprinting based on how she felt, and it always tended to be a nice work out for her. After about half an hour later and circling the neighborhood so many times she lost count, Rebekah power walked back to Caroline's house to cool down. While she was walking around the corner to get to Caroline's street, she nearly bumped into the little old man she'd seen entering the house next door to Caroline's after she met Bonnie yesterday. She caught herself before she ran into him and his walker, and stepped back.

"I'm so sorry!" The little old man just looked up at Rebekah and blinked a few times, then she heard a woman's voice respond, "That's alright, sugar... no harm done..." She looked over and saw the woman who'd spoken was kind looking older woman, not nearly as old as the man, but probably a decade or two younger, with the same skin tone that Bonnie had, and curly dark hair. She was wearing a nurse's uniform, so she guessed that the woman was the man's aid and smiled back at the woman.

"Alright... well, I hope you both a nice day..."

"You, too, baby..." the woman said smiling, then once again placing her hand on the old man's arm, and Rebekah stepped around them and continued her brisk walk. She turned back and looked over her shoulder and saw the old man looked over his shoulder at her too, smiling back at her. Rebekah smiled then turned back and kept walking towards Caroline's house, and she was nearly at the door when she felt her fanny pack vibrating, and she unzipped it and pulled out her phone and saw a new text from Bonnie. Rebekah smiled seeing Bonnie's name and opened the text.

_Hey girl! Still up for dinner and drinks tonight at the Grille? We'll probably be there in 30-45, it's busier than usual now with the high school out for Christmas vacation... if that's too early we can go later! :) -Bonnie_

Rebekah glanced at the time then quickly typed her message back to Bonnie.

_No, 6 sounds perfect! Gives me time to clean up, I just went for a run, I'll see you there! Thanks for reminding me! ;) -Beks_

Rebekah dashed inside smiling, feeling much better after her run and excited about having plans for that night.

* * *

After showering and getting ready, Rebekah was driving to the Mystic Grille; which would've been much more easy had she known where she was going. Caroline had said not to worry, that Mystic Falls was too small for her to get lost in, but she had underestimated how directionally challenged Rebekah was. Rebekah was trying to navigate there using the GPS on her phone while trying not to kill anyone as she attempted to drive down the wrong side of the road.

_This is unbelievable... don't you lot have sidewalks or something? _She thought irritably as she passed two teenagers just walking on the side of the road, straddling the pavement and grass. _Besides, you're supposed to walk against traffic instead of with it, aren't you?_

Rebekah was grateful she was only 5 minutes late and she rushed to try and find a parking spot. She grabbed her purse and speed walked as fast as she could into the Grille, cursing herself for being impractical and wearing heels. She entered the Grille and smiled, loving how quaint and homey it was with the green painted walls and various types of wood in the tables, chairs, floors, counters and railings, which were all obviously handmade. She scanned the bar looking for Bonnie and she saw her smiling face waving from the corner of the room, sitting on a stool at a high top table. Rebekah smiled back and made a beeline for her, but she bumped into someone with their back to her. She stumbled a bit, losing her balance in her heels and she instinctively grabbed onto the person she'd bumped into to stop herself from flying across the room and face planting.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

"No, no, I'm fine, sorry, it was my..." Rebekah spoke quickly, determined to keep herself from embarrassing herself even further, but was distracted as she looked up at the face of the person she'd bumped into. She'd bumped into a waiter, at least she guessed he was, he was wearing a white shirt with the Mystic Grille logo on the left breast pocket, but he had the brightest, almost sparkling blue eyes she'd ever seen. They were like a bright aquamarine they were just a part of the handsome features in the waiter's face. He had a gorgeous smile, a strong chin, and adorable dark dirty blonde hair, and Rebekah couldn't help but smile at him.

"...fault." The waiter smiled back at her, touched her elbows.

"No, I'm sorry... I'm too bulky, I always seem to be getting in the way..."

"No, no you're not I'm just..." Rebekah started, but then she looked down at his hands on her elbows and she realized she was still gripping onto is biceps, which she saw what he meant when he said bulky. She appreciated the solid muscle before she quickly moved her hands away, "...clumsy is all..."

"No problem," he said assuredly, smiling at her.

"Okay... bye then..." Rebekah gave him an awkward half wave, and turned and hurried to Bonnie's table.

"Hey girl, how's it hanging?" Bonnie greeted her when she finally got the table.

"Not too bad, thanks for inviting me!" Rebekah said, hanging her purse onto the back of the stool as she climbed into the chair.

"Of course! So Stefan, this is Bekah, Bekah, this is Stefan. He, Caroline, and I work over at TVD-4, the local news station."

Bekah smiled and took the hand that Stefan had extended over the table.

"Very nice to meet you, Stefan."

"Likewise, Bekah..." he said with a kind smile. Rebekah smiled back. He seemed nice enough. She saw how he got along with Bonnie and Caroline, he was very mellow in their very fast paced world so he must provide some relief and balance to the friendship.

"Would you like a drink?"

"Oh, sure, don't worry, I can get it myself!"

"I insist!" Bonnie said, patting Rebekah's hand with a smile, then waving it again while looking over Rebekah's shoulder.

"Hey! Matt! Matt!" Bonnie called, and lowered her arm smiling when her intended target had apparently responded the way she wanted. Stefan chuckled at Bonnie's brazenness and she turned to give him a look.

"What?"

"Nothing! I didn't say a word!"

"I purposefully told the hostess to seat us in his..."

"I know, I know..." Stefan put up his hands defensively.

"It's not my fault she sat us in Timbuktu..." Bonnie muttered. Rebekah chuckled, watching them bicker like an old married couple. Before their fighting could continue, Rebekah heard a person walk up behind her and she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey guys..."

Rebekah turned and saw none other than the waiter she'd bumped into and clung onto for dear life. Rebekah's face fell, stunned to see him and Bonnie waving him down nonetheless.

"Hey Matt, sorry to be obnoxious, but..."

"No worries, Bon, I wouldn't forget you guys..."

"Oh she knows, she's just used to getting what she wants when she wants..." Stefan said teasingly. Bonnie scoffed and punched Stefan in the arm, which he feigned excruciated pain and grabbed his arm theatrically. Bonnie laughed and turned back to Matt and smiled.

"So Matt, this is Rebekah, Rebekah this is our friend Matt. Waiter, bartender, a kind of jack of all trades if you will..."

"Nice to see you again, Rebekah..." Matt said, taking Rebekah's hand and shaking it gently.

"Again? What you two have already met?" Bonnie asked.

"Well not officially..." Matt said, smiling, then he looked back at Rebekah, "How was your trip? Will I be seeing you next fall?" Bonnie and Stefan looked at each other confusedly, and Rebekah simply quirked an eyebrow and chuckled.

"Really? Very original, I must say..." She said, giving him a look and Matt laughed .

"Sorry, I'm just a great big ball of cheese, aren't I, Bon?"

"That you are..." she said, still looking questioningly between Rebekah and Matt.

"So how do you know Stefan and Bonnie?" Matt asked Rebekah.

"Oh! She's staying in Caroline's house! Remember, I told you when we got here that Caroline's in the U.K. for the holidays?" Bonnie responded quickly.

"Oh... okay so you're the one Care did the ol' switcheroo with?" Matt said, nodding as he looked back at Rebekah.

"Yeah we did the whole swap thing yesterday..." Rebekah added.

"Well, welcome to the States! First rounds on me, guys!" Matt smiled. They all quickly protested, insisting that he didn't have to, but Matt just raised his hands to silence them.

"No, seriously guys, I insist... in honor of our guest and new friend..." he said smiling and gesturing at Rebekah. Rebekah smiled and sighed, casting her eyes down at the ground then back up to Matt and Matt winked at her before he left to head to the bar to get their drinks. The second Matt left the table, Bonnie pressed Rebekah for answers.

"So what was that about? How do you guys know each other?"

"Well that's a funny story actually... you see when you add one clumsy girl, plus high heels, plus a crowded restaurant, you get one big disaster waiting to happen,' Rebekah said.

"Oooh I love those!" Bonnie said, admiring her shoes. Bekah smiled and Stefan rolled his eyes at Bonnie being easily distracted.

"So, Matt helped you up or something?" Stefan asked.

"No, I actually bumped into him and he kind of broke my fall, kept me from flying across the room..." Rebekah said sheepishly, feeling her cheeks get hot.

"Well good! I'm glad! Can you imagine how much that would suck, having like, a sprained ankle or a broken leg on Day 2 of your two week vacation?" Bonnie said.

"That would be very unpleasant..." Stefan said, popping a peanut from the dish of nut on the table into his mouth.

"That's Matt for ya... always there when you need him... He's a really good guy..." Bonnie said, taking the cashew out of Stefan's hand and popping it into her mouth before making a face at him.

"Yeah... He is..." Rebekah said softly, she slowly turned and peered over her shoulder to look at Matt, who was waiting patiently to get their drinks from the bartender. He turned at that moment to look back at their table, and when he saw her looking at him, he smiled a big smile at her and Rebekah gladly returned it.

* * *

_Four hours later..._

The restaurant had become less and less crowded as the night went on. In a town with many families, most had just come for dinner, then left, so Rebekah, Stefan, and Bonnie were some of the few left. It didn't look like Bonnie would be lasting much longer from the looks of it though.

Bonnie started cracking up loudly again, banging her palm on the table, much to the chagrin of the table next to them, whom Bonnie had had enough looks from and finally turned to them.

"What! What do you want? I'm in the corner! How am I bothering you from Timbuktu! Kiss my ass!" She shouted, and Stefan finally took that as his cue.

"Okay, I think it's time you left, Bon... you're getting crazy now..." he said, standing up and putting on his leather jacket before helping Bonnie up and grabbing hers and her purse.

"Who are you calling crazy, Stefan!" Bonnie argued, teetering a bit, but never letting the finger she pointed at Stefan drop.

"Honestly for the amount of drinks she had and her size, I think she's handling herself rather well considering..." Rebekah laughed and Stefan shot her an exasperated look, as if he didn't need her saying stuff like that. But Rebekah gave him a teasing look as she put on her jacket and grabbed her purse and took Bonnie's hand.

"I... I have every right to celebrate our victory over those pompous pricks at City Hall... and I can't wait to hear the Mayor's official statement on the matter... you know... you know he still hasn't made a statement yet? That doesn't look good, it makes him either look incompetent or he doesn't care, which, both are true anyway... but..." Bonnie mumbled as Stefan and Rebekah helped her walk toward the door. Matt saw them leaving and walked to the door.

"You got her, Stef?"

"Yeah, don't worry... she'll probably be sound asleep the second her butt hits the passenger seat of my car... I'm so glad she's not a puker..." Stefan said, half-laughing.

"Okay man, take care..." he said, clapping Stefan on the shoulder as they passed, then calling to them as they walked out, " 'night, Bon!"

"Good night, Matt! Thanks for catching Beks! I'm glad you two know each other!" Bonnie called, not even trying to lift her head up as Stefan essentially carried her out of the bar.

Rebekah had let go of Bonnie when Stefan said he had her and was obviously sober enough to drive her home. It seemed like the liquor hadn't even effected him, which he wasn't a big drinker in the first place, he'd only ordered 2 drinks and he barely finished the second.

"Bye guys!" Rebekah called after them, hanging back with Matt. Matt turned to her and put a hand on her arm.

"What about you? You okay?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah, I'm good... I'm mostly just tired... I was so jet lagged yesterday, I slept like Rip Van Winkle... I'll probably pass out the minute I'm in the door..." she said with a small smile, enjoying the fact that his warm hand was on his arm and she didn't miss the fact that was rubbing his thumb gently on her arm.

"Well hey, if you stick around for bit, I'll get off and I can drive you back to Caroline's..."

"Oh no, that's fine, I drove her car over here, I wouldn't want to leave it..."

"Okay well at least let me lead you back, Bonnie said you had a rough time getting here..."

"It wasn't too rough," Rebekah said, lightly slapping his arm, but then shrugged, "Okay... fine... that'd be nice... it is darker, I bet nothing looks the same..."

"Exactly... and hey, I'll make it worth your while... there may be a slice of cake in it for you..." Matt said, waggling his eyebrows as if to entice her with his deal.

Rebekah laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Well now that there's cake involved..." Matt laughed and gestured up towards the bar, which Rebekah walked with him to and sat down at.

"You've got to admit... it's a good hook..." Matt said with a cheeky grin.

"Well, you've found my weakness... I'm a sucker for baked goods..." Rebekah said, putting her jacket and purse on the stool next to her.

"Join the club..." Matt said, walking behind the bar and ducking into the room in the back.

"You have a club?" Rebekah said, pretending to be overly excited and intrigued.

"Oh yeah! Cake Junkies... We've got t-shirts, buttons, bumper stickers, everything!" he said, rounding the corner with a slice of burgundy cake with ivory frosting and two forks. "Don't worry, I'll get you a shirt..."

"You're so considerate," Rebekah fake swooned and Matt laughed, setting down the plate and handing her a fork. "Hey! I thought this was my cake!"

"Uh, yeah, under normal circumstances, I'd be a gentleman and let you have the slice, but it's Red Velvet cake, I can't not have some of this right now..."

"Ohhhh Red Velvet? Oh my god, I LOVE Red Velvet cake!" she said excitedly, getting some cake on her fork.

"I know, me too, it's my favorite..." Matt said, getting some cake on his fork as well.

"Mine too!" Rebekah said.

"OHMIGOD, WE'RE LIKE THE SAME PERSON!" Matt said in a Valley Girl voice.

"Shut up!" Rebekah said, shooting him a cross look which she couldn't help but break with a smile. Matt chuckled and held up his fork to Rebekah.

"To a wonderful and unforgettable vacation in the U.S..." Matt said. Rebekah smiled at his gesture and giggled as she touched her fork to his and nodded to him gratefully.

"Cheers."

"Cheers." They both took their bite at the same time, then both moaned as they chewed.

"Oh my god, it's so good..." Rebekah murmured.

"Mmhmm..." Matt agreed, chewing then licking some left over frosting off his fork.

"I didn't see this on the menu," Rebekah said, "Did one of the waitresses or waiters make it? Or are you the closet baker?"

Matt laughed, "No... my girlfriend make this..."

Rebekah froze, her fork stopped mid air on it's way to dig in and get another forkful.

"Oh..."

"Yeah, she's big into baking and cooking... she's trying to hone some of her recipes before she opens up her new restaurant in Richmond next year... good for the restaurant, bad for for my gut..." he said, patting his stomach when he mentioned his gut.

"Oh, well, it's delicious..." Rebekah quickly smoothed over, getting another forkful, but taking longer to chew it and swallow. She didn't go for another forkful, she'd suddenly lost her appetite.

"Yeah, Jules a wizard, I'm certain of it, I don't know how she whips up some of her stuff... But everyone loves her stuff, so much that she started catering things in town which is how she got her idea for a restaurant, and we had no doubt that it would do well, she brings in most the income with her catering jobs..."

"Oh really...?" she said.

"Yeah, no, I mean I love working here, the people are great, but it's just another way to make money when I'm not teaching..." he said, getting another bite of cake.

"You're a teacher too?" she said.

"Yeah, I teach music over at the high school... I studied Music Composition in college, but surprise surprise, in a down economy, there aren't many opportunities for music majors besides teaching... I mean trying to be a musician is tough enough, but you've gotta pay the bills somehow, so when that didn't work out, I came back here and worked in the Grille for a bit until the high school's music teacher retired and I took her job, but they also have cut the music program substantially, so the Grille helps make ends meet... I mean not that teachers get paid that much anyway..."

"So you're a musician then? What do you play?" She asked, loving the way he lit up when he talked about music.

"Guitar... but I don't sing though, so I tried to find some work, I auditioned at a couple places and for a couple bands, but nothing really panned out... Do you play any instruments?" He said, turning it back on her, and raising his eyebrows waiting for a response.

"My parents made me and all my brothers study piano, but I was never really that good at it... Elijah and Klaus were much better at it, I kind of went in the athletic route so they really pushed me in track and things like that..."

"So it's just you and your two brothers?"

"I actually have four... Finn, Elijah, Klaus, and Kol... I'm the only girl..."

"Wow... I could barely manage one sister, much less 3 other siblings..."

"Yep, it was a pretty crowded party..." Rebekah said jokingly. "So you've got one sister, then? Younger or older?"

"Younger... Vicki..."

"Lovely name..."

"Yeah, it is..." Rebekah couldn't help but see how Matt closed up when talking about his sister. She reached over and placed her hand over his.

"Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine... it's just..." Matt paused, but looked at his hand, barely covered by Rebekah's slender, smaller hand, then said, "I haven't seen Vicki in over a year..."

"Did something happen to her, or..."

"No no, I mean she didn't go like missing or get kidnapped or anything... technically... it's just..." Matt put down his fork and ran his other hand through his hair then said, "...she got mixed up with a bunch of bad guys... drugs and stuff and she wouldn't listen to me anymore and she told me I couldn't tell her how to live her life and bunch of other not so nice things... then she was just gone. She told me she'd do what she wanted and they were headed back out west, so I figured she went with them. I haven't heard from her at all, no responding to my calls, texts, emails..."

"Matt... I'm sure she's fine..." Rebekah squeezed his hand encouragingly.

"Yeah... I hope so..." Matt smiled at Rebekah appreciatively. The gazed at each other for a moment before a waiter called to Matt and their reverie was broken and Rebekah quickly moved her hand away so that Matt could go talk to the waiter. When he was gone, Rebekah pushed her side of Jules' cake around a bit to look like she'd eaten more, but she didn't really feel like eating more of the girlfriend's cake. Matt finally came back over and let her know that they were okay to close and he could drive her back over to Caroline's. He took the cake back to the back with the rest of it, she assumed, and then he drove and led her back to Caroline's

"Well thanks for everything, Matt..." Rebekah said, stopping at Caroline's front door to turn back to him.

"Anytime, Rebekah..."

"Please, call me Bekah..."

"Okay... Bekah..." he said, testing it out, then smiled, "I like it..."

"Good..." she said, smiling back. They both paused, still looking at each other, not sure what to do, they'd just met, but they'd been very open with each other, especially Matt opening up to her about his sister. It felt more familiar than just casual acquaintances, but they weren't sure if they were in the friend zone yet, but Matt extended his open arms, and they tentatively hugged each other, but once they embraced, it was like they fit together like two puzzle pieces. Rebekah loved how even though Matt was solidly built, he was incredibly huggable, like a teddy bear, which was so fitting for his nature. Matt couldn't help but take another deep breath and breath in Rebekah's soothing smell. She smelled like lilacs and freesia, he remembered a similar scented body wash Vicki had used growing up, but Rebekah's smelled distinctly different. It felt more, her. They finally released the other and chuckled.

"Well goodnight then..." Matt said, walking away, but glancing over his shoulder as he did.

"Goodnight, Matt..." Rebekah put her keys in the door and Matt stepped off the porch.

"Hey, Bekah?" Matt suddenly paused and turned back to her, and she paused halfway in the door.

"Yeah?"

"I uh... I've got tickets to see The Killers in Richmond this weekend, and Jules bailed on me... would you like to go with me?"

Rebekah smiled at him, "Yeah! Sure, I love The Killers... it'd be a terrible waste of a ticket..."

"Yeah well, you know I could always scalp it..."

"Yeah, then be stuck with some freak or something the whole show?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay fine, scalping's not the best idea..." he conceded, laughing. She laughed.

"So Saturday? I'll pick you up at 5? It's about an hour to Richmond, we can grab a bite before the concert?"

"Sounds fantastic..." Rebekah grinned.

"Alright then, great..." Matt smiled.

"Goodnight, Matt..."

"'Night, Bekah..." Matt turned and walked back to his truck, while Rebekah walked in and turned and shut the door, grinning to herself as she did. She suddenly couldn't wait for Saturday.

* * *

_**Author's Note:**_ So 3 hours later, this is the result... I may have overestimated my writing speed, but I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out. I'll let you guys be the judge, R&R and let me know what you think? I promise I will at least write Klaroline's Chapter 7 now that I've finally introduced Mabekah. Please R&R it warms my heart and spurs my fingers to write!

**xo a-little-blonde-distraction**


	7. Chapter 7

**_Taking a Chance:_** _A Klaroline Fanfic_**_  
_**Based on the movie _The Holiday_  
Written and directed by Nancy Meyers

**_Author's Note: _**Klaroline and Mabekah on the Amtrak Express continues with Chapter 7... Will Caroline change her mind about going home and pop in to see Klaus at the pub? I think you all know the answer to that one ;)

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Klaus shook his body, trying to get as much snow off as possible as he stood in the entrance of the pub. It had started snowing when he was half way to the pub from work and he was keen on getting there before it got too thick, and he luckily made it before then. He shrugged his peacoat off as he scanned the pub, studying the faces around him; he wasn't looking for his friends though, he was looking for one face and he didn't see it anywhere. He paused where he was for a moment and started to think and reason to why he didn't see her around, but then stopped himself. He wouldn't let himself get bogged down and start wondering why she didn't come, because then he'd start thinking about what he could've done to make her stay, or worse; he'd start missing her. He didn't want what they'd had to be tainted with sadness, so he locked that down and smiled thinking of that look on her face.

That look after he'd kissed her the second time; that adorably confused and contemplative look as she tried to reason through their chemistry and what was going on. He grinned, showing his dimples, as he remembered little details about her and moments that made him happy to think about and as he was lost in thoughts, his friend Paul's wife, Torrey's voice suddenly called out his name and he saw the pair sitting in the back area sitting at a table with chairs on one side and a booth seat attached to the wall on the other. They were seated in the two chairs, leaving him the booth, so he smiled and walked over to them and hung up his jacket on a coat rack near their table.

"How's it going, mate?" he said as he shook his friend's hand then crossed to kiss his wife's cheek before sitting down.

"Not too bad, yourself?"

"Not too bad..." he said, with a small smile.

"I can't believe you didn't see Torrey when you came in, she looks like a blooming taxi!" Paul laughed, his wife scolding him and pinching his arm.

"You said this yellow looked nice on me! You liar!" she laughed. Klaus laughed along with them half-heartedly and it wasn't unnoticed by Torrey.

"What's the matter? You seem distracted..."

"No! No I'm..." He started, but then he caught a glimpse of blonde curl that captured all of his attention. But his view was obstructed by two men downing two glasses of Guinness and he laughed at himself. _You're losing it, Klaus... get a grip... _he thought to himself, _she's gone, she said she was leaving, she left... end of stor- _But then the two men walked away to get more Guinness at the bar and he saw that beautiful, bright face he'd been looking for sitting at the tiny table meant for two with a glass of white wine in front of her. Once again, her appearance stunned him, and he was only snapped out of it when her face spread into a big smile and she waved at him, and he felt his cheeks stretching into a big smile. _She came... I can't believe she came..._

Paul and Torrey didn't understand what Klaus had been staring at, one second he was talking to them, the next he was staring off into the pub. They kept looking back and forth between Klaus and the space he was staring off into and they tried to get his attention again and again, but finally they followed his gaze again and they saw what had pulled his focus... _who_ had pulled his focus.

"You dog..." Paul laughed and punched Klaus's arm.

"Klaus... do you know her?" Torrey asked, interested in who the woman was. Caroline looked and saw his friends attempting to talk to Klaus and saw how clueless he was to what was going on, so she stood and took her coat in one hand and her glass of wine in the other and crossed up and over to where their table was. She stood by the table and Klaus couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.

"You came..." he said.

"I did..." she said with a smile, her eyes flitting around his face.

"You changed your mind? Missed your flight?" he asked.

"Something like that..." Caroline answered ambiguously but softly, looking down at the table, seeing how close their hands were, then looked back up at him, a gentle smile on her face. Paul and Torrey stayed silent through the exchange, their gazes bouncing back and forth between Klaus and Caroline until the two weren't speaking and simply gazing at each other. Paul took the silence as an opportunity to reiterate their presence and cleared his throat. Klaus gaze broke away from Caroline's face and followed the source of the sound, and when he saw Paul and Torrey's expectant faces, he snapped back to reality.

"Sorry! Uh... Paul! Torrey! This is..."

"...hi, I'm Caroline, it's very nice to meet you..." Caroline picked up, extending her hands to Torrey and Paul. They introduced themselves and Paul looked over at Klaus and cleared his throat again.

"Uh, Klaus? Are you just going to make the girl stand there or are you going to let her sit down?"

"Oh! Of course, please, sit..." Klaus said, getting a grip on himself again and scooting over on the seat to allow Caroline to sit. He took her coat that she'd been carrying draped over her arm and hung it up on the rack with his and she sat down and they settled in. They were pretty close, it was a comfortably packed pub and they were sitting on a single booth seat together, so Caroline and Klaus's legs were pressed against each other. Klaus seemed to still be searching for words until Caroline looked over at him beside her and squeezed his leg encouragingly and looked back at Paul and Torrey and took control of the conversation.

"So how did you guys become friends with this one, Mr. Million Words?" she said. Paul and Torrey laughed, immediately liking Caroline, and Klaus was happy to sit back and admire her as she got along perfectly with his friends.

* * *

_**Three hours later..**_.

It was a great night, Caroline completely won over Paul and Torrey, and Klaus was so glad. He considered Paul one of his closest friends and the fact that he liked Caroline only made him happier. They had left already, they had to get up early tomorrow morning, so they left him and Caroline alone. Klaus threw back the last of his beer, and he looked over at Caroline who was slowly downing her 6th glass of wine. He didn't realize it was her 6th until then, she had been keeping up with Paul and Torrey so Klaus hadn't noticed how much she'd been drinking. She finally finished it and Klaus took the empty glass.

"Alright, I think you've had enough, love..."

"Oh, I'm fine! I'm on vacation! I can have another!" Caroline said, waving to the waitress and she came and refilled her glass and Klaus caught the girl's eye and gave her a hard look, looked at Caroline, and then very subtly shook his head to let her know not to give her anymore.

"And I think you got all the potato too, darling..." he said, taking the fork out of her hand that she'd been licking, trying to get the last few tastes of mashed potato. Caroline murmured and let him take it and her plate away.

"I am so _glad_ that you told me to try those mashed potatoes! They are _amazing_..." she said, overemphasizing, "...I don't know what it is, but whenever I drink, I get _so..._ _hungry_..."

"Yes, I noticed that, you're a regular garbage disposal, aren't you?"

"Shut up! I'm on _vacation_! I can do whatever I want!" Caroline said, slapping his chest, but her hand stayed planted on his chest. Her fingertips were able to touch the skin exposed at the collar of his thermal shirt and she moved her hand up to caress the front of his chest and neck and leaned in close putting her lips to his ear and whispering, "And _whomever_ I want..." Klaus's breath caught as he felt her hands on his skin and her breath in his ear, and he felt a stirring that he knew he shouldn't. At least not here.

"Caroline..." he started gently, trying to fend her off without upsetting her, but she only latched on tighter and kept her lips at his ear.

"I know you want to... I know you want _me_... why else would you invite me here to meet your friends unless you really _wanted_ _me_..." Klaus shivered and let out a small moan.

"Sweetheart, I will always want you, how could I not?" he said, turning to look into her eyes, "But I didn't invite you here to get into your trousers, love..."

"But I'm not wearing _trousers..._" Caroline giggled, mimicking his accent and rubbing her hand along the front of Klaus's chest through his shirt, until she reached up again and put her lips to his ear, "...and guess what else I'm _not_ _wearing_..." Klaus groaned he knew he had to stop her or else he wouldn't be able to help himself and the second he felt the kiss on his neck, he grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and yanked her away from him.

"Caroline!" He said forcefully, a little more forcefully than he'd meant to be, and he immediately regretted it from the look on Caroline's face. It was filled with so much hurt and he could see how similar it was to how she looked when she told him that her last boyfriend said she was bad a sex; the same hurt, the shame, feeling not wanted. That's when he realized, her last boyfriend had to have cheated on her, which of course meant he'd stopped having sex with her when the affair started, and he probably pushed her away using the excuse she was bad at sex. The sad thing was, it had nothing to do with her, and she'd never believe otherwise unless she heard the bastard admit it himself. He'd seen his brother Kol use it countless times on women as he skipped from one girlfriend to the next, unfortunately, but he saw it right away, and he couldn't let her think that; he wouldn't be her Kol.

"Caroline, I-"

"Forget it..." she said angrily, grabbing her purse and getting out of the booth.

"Caroline, please, stop... I didn't-" he said, standing to cut her off from getting her coat off the coat rack.

"No, it's fine Klaus, don't worry about it..." she said brushing past him to get her coat and she slipped her arms into the sleeves quick as a flash and turned to him, "...have a nice life..." before spinning on her heel to leave.

"Oh... fuck..." Klaus cursed as he grabbed his coat and ran after her. He was pulling on his coat and walking out the door and he saw her a block away trying to hail a taxi. He didn't try to understand how she'd gotten there so fast and ran to her.

"Caroline..."

"Leave me alone, Klaus..." she said, ignoring him and trying to get a taxi.

"Caroline..." he said, slowing down to a walk. "Don't be angry, love... it was just a little spat..."

"Leave me alone, Klaus..." she repeated.

"Caroline..." Klaus said again, softly, his voice barely a murmur.

"KLAUS! I SAID LEAVE ME AL-" Caroline turned, shrieking at him, but was cut off as Klaus grabbed her face and attacked her lips with his. It took a second for Caroline to realize that he was kissing her and when she did, she started pushing him and trying to fight him off, whimpering and whining against his lips, until he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her towards him, crushing her against his body. When he did, her hits became weaker and less and less until her hands were sliding up his chest into his hair instead of pounding against his chest. She knew then he wasn't rejecting her, no man kisses a woman like this if he doesn't want her, but that was the only clear thought in her mind before it went blank again, absorbed in kissing him.

Klaus refused to let her go and once he felt her fingers in his hair, he smiled against her lips and he knew she wasn't angry or hurt anymore. He relished having her in his arms and her body crushed up against his, but suddenly Caroline broke her lips away from his, gasping.

"I'm dizzy..." she breathed, pressing her forehead against his and squeezing her eyes shut. Klaus chuckled, he hadn't meant for his kiss to discombobulate her that much. Caroline heard his chuckled and groaned and moved her head down to press her forehead to his chest and hit him with her right hand.

"No... seriously, Klaus... I feel dizzzz-" Caroline trailed off, her body starting to slump as her legs folded underneath her. Klaus tightened his grip on her, his arms having never left her waist.

"Whoa whoa whoa, steady there, love..." he soothed, hoisting her up so she rested her body against his, "...Easy now..." He turned his body for her to rest against his right side, tightened his grip on her with his right and raised his left hand to call a taxi. Once the taxi pulled up to the curb, Klaus helped Caroline into it, which was essentially carrying her into the car and putting her in. Once she was in, he followed, closing the door and giving the cabbie Rebekah's address. He gently pulled Caroline over to him, and she quickly folded into his arms and snuggled her head into his chest and he let his chin rest on top of her head as he wrapped an arm around her.

"You smell like Tuscany..." Caroline murmured.

"Oh really, and how would you know that, Miss I-Never-Go-Anywhere?" Klaus laughed.

"I don't, but you smell like what I dream Tuscany smells like... like lemons and vanilla and almonds and orange zest and wood and..." Caroline rambled, muttering into Klaus's chest and Klaus chuckled. But he had to hand it to her, she must be part blood hound with how she nailed each of the smells in the cologne he was wearing, his favorite cologne Armani Code. He stroked her hair and couldn't help admiring the fragrance she was wearing herself.

"Well you don't smells so bad yourself, sweetheart..." he chuckled, "...it's unique... like you..."

Caroline murmured happily and buried her face into his chest.

"It's my favorite... Tyler always hated it..."

"That tosser... it's lovely, just like you..." he said, kissing the top of her forehead without even a second thought. She smelled like strawberries, violets, grapefruit, jasmine, and with just a hint of vanilla. "It's like smelling when Spring turns into Summer, when everything is in full bloom and everything is bright and juicy and full of life..." he whispered, stroking her hair and then stroking her back through her coat.

"You're good with saying words..." Caroline sighed, eyes closed. Klaus chuckled, his dimples showing.

"What can I say, love? It's part of my natural charm and charisma..."

"Yeah... and sooooo modest too..." Caroline said, attempting to slap his chest again, but lacking the energy to complete the action, so her slaps became more like soft taps on his chest. Klaus simply laughed and continued stroking her hair as he waited for them to reach their destination.

* * *

A while later, they finally reached Rebekah's cottage, and Klaus tipped the cabbie and turned back to Caroline, who was awkwardly sitting with her head back over the seat.

"Come on, love, we're here..." Caroline just groaned in response and turned her head away from him, apparently content to just sleep in the back of the cab.

"Trust me, Caroline, you're going to thank me for not letting you sleep in the back of a taxi, darling... That's going to be really uncomfortable by morning..." he said, trying to reason with her. Caroline let out an exasperated breath and swung her legs out of the car.

"Okay... fine!" she snapped, hoisting herself up, and immediately slipping on ice and flailing. Klaus quickly caught her.

"You alright?"

"Yes I'm fine!" Caroline said, suddenly getting haughty again, pushing him away, but flailing and stumbling as a result of the push. But she grabbed onto the stone wall that was surrounding White Oak Cottage and shooed him away with her hand as she rummaged around in her bag for her keys. Klaus nodded to the driver, who took the cue that it was fine to leave, and looked back at Caroline.

"Would you like me to take those and-"

"I can manage thank you!" Caroline said, her voice going up on the last word, and she marched as proudly as she could up to the door, brandishing her keys. However, the effects of her alcohol binge and sleepiness contributed to her lack of coordination and she nearly went flying into the snow covered yard. Klaus caught her again and pulled her close and scooped her up in his arms.

"Come here, love, before you manage to succeed in actually injuring yourself..." As he walked up to the door, Klaus struggled to keep a hold of Caroline as he walked up the front steps of the cottage. Not because she was heavy, she was light as a feather; he struggled because she was drunkenly flailing around, babbling to him and making it very difficult not to drop her as he tried to make his way into the house.

"Like I said, love, you can just hand over the keys..."

"Pshhhh I don't know what you're talking about, I can let myself in!" Caroline mumbled, still unaware that she was being carried.

"Oh, allow me, love... I insist..." Klaus chuckled, easily snatching the keys from Caroline and priding himself on how he was able to get the keys, unlock the door and get inside all without dropping her. She struggled to get out of his arms, and now that they were inside, he let her down, steadying her as she stumbled, but once she was mostly steady, she started stripping off her coat.

"Look, just because you're handsome and have a great body and a sexy accent, you can't just waltz in and expect to be my knight in shining armor, okay bucko?" Caroline babbled, in what Klaus suspected was supposed to be a lecturing tone. Klaus listened, interested in hearing what she was admitting in her drunken state. She attempted to put her coat on the coat rack, but missed it by about 2 feet, but Klaus easily caught it and hung it up for her. Klaus chuckled.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart..."

"Gawwwd sweetheart, love, darling... I've got myself a regular Casanova here..." Caroline said over dramatically. Klaus couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I'd prefer Romeo, but if that's what you think, Caroline, so be it..." he laughed.

"Ooooh I'm Klaus... Mr. Literary Genius... I know everything about literary people..." Caroline tried to mock, as she brought her arms inside her dress, acting instinctively to take her bra off since it was making her uncomfortable. Klaus watched with amazement as Caroline expertly and precisely, save for a bit of stumbling, managed to take her bra off underneath her dress, pull it up and out of her sleeve, and fling it across the room. Klaus laughed incredulously.

"Unbelievable..."

"What's so funny? Don't laugh at me..." Caroline whined, pathetically swatting at Klaus's chest.

"Sorry, love, it's just a trip seeing you like this..." he said, steering her upstairs, and moving her towards the bed as gently as he could.

"Yeah, well you know what I think? I think-" Caroline suddenly froze, Klaus's smile fading into a worried look.

"What is it? Are you-" Klaus started, but Caroline had already slapped a hand over her mouth and pushed past him and was running towards the bathroom in the bedroom. All she managed to do was fling open the door and just in the knick of time, she reached the toilet just before she began throwing up profusely. Klaus gave her a second before he followed her in, walking to the toilet, where Caroline was sitting on her knees, grasping the outside of the toilet hard, and kneeled beside her and gathered her hair out of the way and held it back with one hand and proceeded to rub her back soothingly. The second she felt her hair being moved, Caroline moaned, her moan echoing in the toilet.

"Noooo... go away... I don't want...hrmph... I don't want your help..."

Klaus laughed softly, not moving, and reassured her, "Sweetheart, it's alright, it happens to the best of us... I've been to university, I've seen plenty of girls tossing their cookies..."

"But you haven't seen me tossing my... hrmph..." Caroline gagged, trying to get words out despite the onslaught of vomit.

"No, I haven't... but I'm honored to be taking care of you, darling... just breathe and let it out... better out than in..." Klaus said, pausing his hand on her back momentarily to look around the sink to find a hair tie. He found one and used it to tie Caroline's hair back, freeing his other hand, and he began alternating between massaging her neck and shoulders—which he knew would be hurting from hunching over the toilet—and rubbing her back like he had before. Caroline had to admit, what Klaus was doing felt great, and it was welcome relief from her discomfort from being draped over the toilet. And his hands rubbing her back gave her something to focus on rather than notice the horrible clenching and heaving of her stomach, which she hated worse than the actual puke itself.

Once the retching came to stop, Klaus helped Caroline up, having her lean on him as he brought her to the sink, knowing she would want to rinse her mouth out. Caroline gratefully took a cup and some mouthwash and gargled, ridding herself of the disgusting taste in her mouth, and allowing Klaus to basically carry her back into the bedroom. He began to change her into her pajamas, but Caroline used what little strength and coordination she had left to fight him off.

"No... no..." she moaned.

"Sweetheart, I've already seen you naked, it's no big deal, and as much as I enjoy seeing you in this slinky dress, you'll be much more comfortable in these," he said, motioning to her pajamas. The skin tight, black bandage dress she had been wearing drove him crazy all night, but he knew she'd be uncomfortable sleeping in it and insisted he change her. Caroline moaned but didn't protest anymore, so Klaus took it as a confirmation and changed her. He didn't oogle her while he changed her, he was focused on changing her as quickly as possible so he could tuck her into the covers. Once she was tucked in, he moved the small wastebasket over towards her, readying her so he could get her a glass of water and some crackers or something for her stomach. However as he turned to leave, Caroline suddenly grabbed his arm, and the motion of him walking away caused her hand to slide from his wrist to his hand, which she held onto with all her might. He paused looking down at her hand in his, and then to her face which looked heartbreakingly distraught.

"Don't leave!" Caroline pleaded.

"Caroline-" Klaus started to explain he was coming back, but was cut off.

"DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!" Caroline started to wail, no tears, just gasping sobs, which scared Klaus. He was afraid she'd start hyperventilating, so went to her side, knelt beside the bed, never letting go of her hand, and using his free hand to stroke her face and hair.

"Hey... I'm not leaving... Caroline, love, don't get upset... I'm just going to run down to the kitchen and grab you a glass of water and crackers, sweetheart... I'll be gone 1 minute, and then I'll be right back, I swear..." he said soothingly, knowing how terrified she must feel being so helpless in a foreign place. Caroline listened intently to him, then nodded, leaning into his touch as his brought his hand to her cheek and stroked it with his thumb, just like she had done to him the first night they spent together.

"Okay... just don't leave me..."

"Never..." Klaus said, standing up and walking calmly away, Caroline holding his hand until the last possible second before letting him go. He hurried to get a glass of water and found no crackers, but grabbed a slice of bread and wrapped it in a napkin and hurried back upstairs.

Once he got back, he placed the bread and water on the nightstand, saying calmly, "See? I'm back, I'm right here..." as he walked towards the bathroom, knowing that Rebekah must have a bottle of aspirin in her medicine cabinet, which luckily he found and he brought the bottle back to the bedroom with him. He was glad to see she hadn't needed the wastebasket, and Caroline had extended her arm again, apparently waiting to grasp his hand again, which Klaus took after he positioned himself on the bed next to her. He pulled her up so she was sitting up reclining, half against him and half against the pillows and headboard. He helped hold the glass of water to her lips, watching her steadily drink, then offered her the bread to help settle her stomach and absorb any leftover alcohol in her system, if there was any. Once she'd finished the slice of bread, he handed her a single aspirin pill, hoping the bread was enough of a buffer in her stomach, which was still doing flip flops judging by her moans and how she held her stomach with the hand that wasn't holding onto his.

He gathered her in his arms, holding her close and rubbing her back, trying to soothe her and lull her to sleep. He thought she was nearly asleep when he suddenly heard her quiet voice.

"Please stay... don't leave..."

"I won't, sweetheart, not as long as you need me..."

"I do, I need you Klaus... stay..."

It tugged at Klaus's heartstrings to hear Caroline say she needed him, and he kicked off his boots, not caring as he heard them fall to the floor, and he pulled the blanket up to cover him and Caroline. He gently leaned over Caroline to turn the lamp on the nightstand off.

"Goodnight, Caroline..."

"Goodni-" Caroline murmured, her voice trailing off as she fell quickly to sleep. Klaus just smiled and placed a kiss on the top of her head and he let the darkness consume them both and fell asleep.

* * *

Klaus woke up first the next morning at nearly 11:00, they'd slept in quite a bit. During the night, he and Caroline had moved and rearranged to sleeping on their sides spooning, Caroline's back pressed to his chest, her head tucked underneath his chin, his arm wrapped around her waist, and her arm on top of his, keeping it in place. He smiled down at her, placing a kiss to the back of her head, loving how sweet she smelled, just like she had the night before. He figured she'd probably be thirsty when she woke up so he carefully removed his arm from her body, sad to go, and slipped stealthily way from the bed, afraid of waking her. He grabbed the aspirin bottle and her empty glass and went downstairs to refill it, and just as he turned the faucet off, he heard the clunking footsteps indicating that Caroline had just woken up and gotten out of bed.

When Caroline had woken up, she was happy to see she was in bed, and not curled up on the couch or who knows where, but then immediately groaned as the worst hangover headache she'd ever had hit her like bag of bricks hitting her on one side of her head, then hitting her on the other side. She also realized her throat was as dry as the Gobi desert, so she swung her legs out of bed and did her best not to tumble down the stairs to the kitchen, groaning. She heard a sympathetic sounding "ooh" and looked up and saw Klaus turning from the sink, a glass of water in hand, and he looked at her with a guarded smile.

"Morning... how are you feeling, love?" Caroline was mortified. Bits of the previous night came flooding back to her as she stared at Klaus standing in her-well, Bekah's-kitchen. She'd skipped her flight and met up with Klaus at the pub he'd told her he was meeting his friends at, and all she remembered was drinking; an excessive amount of drinking. And from what she could remember, an excessive amount of drinking solely on her part. She vaguely remembered Klaus bringing her home, and she felt like she could just curl up in a ball in die. Klaus the mega hottie had brought her home while she was smashed. _He must think I'm a total lush now_, Caroline thought unhappily, immediately trying to reset his perspective of her.

"I haven't had that much to drink since..." Caroline was going to say college, but she realized that that was a lie, she'd never drank that heavily in college to the point where she blacked out or didn't remember things that had happened the previous night, so all she managed was a groan, "...what am I saying? I have _never_ had that much to drink..."

"Yeah, well I believe no one ever has..." Klaus said, with his signature smirk on his face. Caroline made a face at him, then began walking into the kitchen more.

"So... the last thing I remember is coming in here last night and..." Caroline froze as she approached the table and suddenly saw her midnight blue lacy bra, which she'd been wearing underneath her dress last night, tossed on the kitchen table. She squeaked and snatched it up, and as she did, she began to remember feeling uncomfortable and taking it off... in front of Klaus... She wrapped it up quickly and tucked it under her arm and covered her face when she realized Klaus had been watching her discover it and make the realization.

"I had nothing to do with that..." he said impishly. His laughing, but slightly defensive tone made Caroline laugh, but she covered her face, feeling mortified.

"Yeah I know but you were here..."

"I was..." Klaus said, sounding smug. A little too smug, Caroline uncovered her face and shot him another look and reached under her armpit to hold the bra, but realized as she went to get it, she was in her pajamas, and didn't remember changing out of her dress, and she suddenly realized, and looked back up at him with a guilty expression. Klaus watched her thoughts slowly piece together, waiting to see what she remembered, before she finally sighed.

"So I guess we um... we uh... did we, uh..." Caroline realized she'd started to make crude gestures with her hands alluding to sexual acts after she'd pointed up to the bedroom, and covered her face. When was she going to stop embarrassing herself in front of this man? She finally peeked out between her fingers and saw him smiling softly at her.

"We did _not_..." he said calmly.

"We didn't?" she said, shocked. Klaus shook his head slightly, still smiling.

"Oh thank god!" she suddenly exclaimed, a little more loudly than she'd meant to. Klaus's face looked surprised, and she realized that that was probably a little insulting towards him, and that's not how she'd meant it all.

"Not like, 'thank god'," she said gesturing with a hand up and down the length of his 5'11 stature, "but just... like... 'thank god'..." she said, finishing by putting her hands on her face. Klaus chuckled, understanding, as she continued, "...it's just because... I don't remember... anything... why... why didn't we? You know? Just um, remind me..." Klaus chuckled, realizing she remembered little to nothing about last night.

"Call me old fashioned, but a gentleman doesn't take advantage of a lady when her head is stuck in a toilet, tossing her cookies..." he teased, leaning casually against the counter.

"Tossing my...? Oh my god... that must have been... _extremely_ attractive..." Caroline said sitting at the table, her mortification knowing no boundaries now, she'd puked last night in front of the mega hottie... She put her face in her hands and had to laugh at herself because she knew how much of a hot mess she was, and chuckled, "Seriously, why in the world did you stay...?" She was expecting a similarly teasing response, but he was still silent, so she looked up and saw him gazing at her tenderly, that tender, intimate look he got, and when her eyes met his, he finally spoke.

"Because you asked me to." Caroline was taken off guard by how tender he was, and hearing his response made her remember him walking away from the bed and her grabbing his hand. She couldn't believe she did that, it was so needy, but all her inhibitions had been washed away with the alcohol and then flushed down the toilet with her puke, and she remembered how desperately alone she felt as she watched him walking away.

"I did, didn't I?" Klaus nodded at her, still smiling softly. Caroline suddenly began to remember more of her actions from the previous night, and brought her head back down and rested her forehead in her hand.

"Did I... _beg_... at one point?" Klaus merely chuckled and looked at her understandingly.

"From the moment I met you... It's been... quite a wild ride..."

"Huh... that's for sure..." Caroline said, with a roll of her eyes, "...all I can say is, I'm deeply sorry, I don't know what the hell is wrong with me... I must be temporarily insane right now..." Klaus looked at Caroline as if he wanted to disagree with what she said about herself, but was interrupted by his cell on the table ringing. Caroline picked up and glanced at it, "It's Nina... SORRY! I didn't mean to look... _again_..." she looked up at Klaus apologetically, embarrassed that she read his phone again, and Klaus shrugged it off but upon confirming the name, he looked back up at her.

"I, uh, better take this one..." and gestured towards the door, signaling that he was going to take the call outside. Caroline shrugged and gestured outside as if she was alright with him taking the call and so Klaus excused himself and answered the phone. As Klaus opened the door and left the house, Caroline stood to grab the glass of water that Klaus had left on the counter and to fix herself a cup of coffee. As he left, she could hear him answer the phone, "Hello? ...Hi!" with an excited tone. She got an ibuprofen from her purse and downed it with the glass of water, then as she was took a sip of coffee she heard laughing. She couldn't help herself and sidled over to the window that was above the sink to peer out and watch him. Nina must be awfully entertaining from how Klaus was acting on the phone; the laughing and his body language indicated just how much. She sighed and said out loud to herself, "Ettie... Nina... Caroline... _busy guy_..."

She faintly heard him say to Nina, "No, sorry, not day, sweetheart..." and he checked his watch, and suddenly glanced back at the house and saw Caroline watching him from the kitchen window. Caroline squeeked seeing that she was caught, and tried to make it look like she'd been doing something in the sink, but she looked silly since she had her cup of coffee in hand, and she couldn't help but sneak a glance up through her eyelashes to see how Klaus was reacting. She saw that cheeky dimpled smirk, and so she rolled her eyes and moved away from the sink. _Like he needs anymore of an ego boost... juggling three girls... _Caroline thought to herself. Caroline was only halfway through with her coffee when Klaus finally came back inside, cursing the cold outside. Caroline tried not to stare and looked around until Klaus finally spoke.

"I think we should go into London..." he said, looking at her plainly, his cellphone back in his pocket.

"What do you mean?" she said, looking blankly at him.

"I mean that you should go upstairs, get ready, get dressed, we take a drive, grab some lunch, and get to know each other..." he said, with the same devilish smirk that she began to associate with him.

"Seriously?" Caroline challenged, thinking of the phone call he just got off of, "Why?"

"Because I'm running out of reasons why we shouldn't..." he answered quickly, then added with a smile, "aren't you?" Caroline smiled back at him, but looked away from him, trying to weigh her options. Klaus saw the battle on her face and laughed.

"Oh, come on..." he said with a chuckle, but looking at her with imploring eyes, "...take a chance, Caroline... talk to me..." Caroline just looked at the ground, so Klaus took a step closer to her and leaned his head over and under so that he could bring her gaze back up to his.

"Come on, get to know me!" She looked at him incredulously, but he just smiled back at her knowingly.

"I dare you..." he said, and his face looked so confident, not overly confident, but content to just stand there and wait for her to cave, like he was betting everything that he could convince her out on another date. Caroline hated herself, but she wanted to go with him. She was intrigued, she really wanted to talk to Klaus and pick his brain. Plus the least she could do to thank him for taking care of her and not taking advantage of her was go out on a date with him.

She just rolled her eyes and turned to trudge up the stairs and muttered, "Fine..." Klaus chuckled, feeling triumphant that he'd gotten her to agree that easily and started looking for the restaurant's number in his phone.

"Hey, and just to be clear: I'm too smart to be seduced by you..." Caroline called over her shoulder, calling down the stairs as she started to shed her pajamas to hop in the shower.

"I thought after last night, it'd be quite obvious love..." Klaus laughed as he had already selected the restaurant from his contacts and was listening to the dial tone waiting for the hostess to pick up the other end.

"That I'm too smart for your seductions?"

"That that is why I like you..."

* * *

**_Author's Note: _**Okay so I finished 3/4 of this on the train, but got too tired and the environment of the ride back wasn't as conducive to writing as riding there was... plus I had the stress of being delayed nearly 5 hours, and I couldn't fall asleep on the train for too long so I've been recuperating the past 2 days and getting acclimated back to working.

Anywho, have been loving your reviews, keep 'em coming! And I'm probs going to be making Polyvore sets for Rebekah and Caroline's outfits for the next couple of chapters-just because I can and I think it's utterly necessary. They will be posted on my tumblr... But please R&R!

- xo a-little-blonde-distraction


	8. Chapter 8

_**Taking a Chance:**_ _A Klaroline Fanfic_

Based on the movie _The Holiday_

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers

_**Author's Note: **_Thank you guys so much for your feedback, I love hearing that you guys are enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it... Sorry if it seems like I take a while to update, I'm trying to update as much as I can! Well here's a little more Rebekah for you, as she makes another new friend, one she never would've expected (people who've seen _The Holiday _know what I mean, but I bet you'll never guess which TVD character it is!)... And this won't be the Mabekah date chapter, it'll be another kind of date with Rebekah's new friend Bonnie and Klaroline's morning after date... Also I hope you guys liked my nod to Paul Wesley and Torrey DeVitto in the last chapter ;)

Anyway, without further ado...

* * *

**Chapter 8**

"No, I think you should totally go the skinny jeans route..." Bonnie said, looking at the two options Rebekah was holding up.

"But this dress is cute!" Rebekah objected.

"Bekah, if I had your figure, I wouldn't hide it underneath a baggy skirt, I'd be flaunting those curves..."

"You're ridiculous, you have a gorgeous figure..."

"Don't patronize me, I have no ass! I've accepted it!" Bonnie insisted, Rebekah laughing, and pointed at her, "And don't try to deflect and make this about me! I'm telling you, skinny jeans plus a cute top is the way to go for your date..."

"It's not a date, Bonnie, he's got a girlfriend... you know that..."

"A girlfriend that ditched him, even though she knows that he loves The Killers! It's one of his favorite bands! That being said, you have a duty to be some much needed arm candy for Matt while his girlfriend cheats on him with her restaurant..." Bonnie said, taking the dress out of Rebekah's hands and putting it back on the rack where she got it.

Rebekah laughed, "So you're her bff, right?" Bonnie rolled her eyes at her.

"Of course... I just came from getting mani-pedis with her after we went to see a chick flick together... duh..." she said sarcastically, Rebekah laughing the whole time.

"Oh... fine..." Rebekah conceded, draping the black skinny jeans Bonnie had found for her over her arm and moving to the rack beside her to start flipping through tops.

"You know, I asked if you'd come shopping with me to _help_ me pick out an outfit for the concert, not _pick one for me_... I thought I'd implied there'd be a certain amount of teamwork involved..."

"Hey, there may be no '_I_' in team but there is a '_me_' in team, so anytime you want _me_ to leave, just say the word..." Bonnie said, smirking and raising an eyebrow to Rebekah. Rebekah raised her hands defensively and then continued flipping through the rack, and Bonnie gave her a knowing look before turning back to the clothing rack she'd started sifting through.

"Besides, why do you need a brand new outfit if he has a girlfriend?" she said, glancing up at Rebekah, who'd started to turn pink.

"I told you... I don't have any clothes appropriate for a concert... it's not for Matt..."

"Uh huh..." Bonnie said, sounding unconvinced, "...You know, Beks, it's okay to admit you like him..."

Rebekah sighed. "Fine, okay, I like him! So what?" she said, pausing and looking up at Bonnie, "...Does it change anything? He's still dating someone, and I'm still single with the man who ripped my heart out and put it in a blender emailing me and texting me all the time..."

"I knew it! It _was_ that rat bastard that emailed you at the beginning of lunch, wasn't it? What part of vacation doesn't he understand?" Bonnie said. They had just come from lunch after Rebekah had texted her if she came to help her find an outfit for the concert, she'd treat for lunch. They stayed talking for so long the wait staff were already starting the change over for dinner, and Rebekah had told Bonnie about the whole Damon ordeal.

"Yes, it was him... but I did tell him I would read his pages..."

"That's bullshit and you know it, Bekah!" Bonnie said seriously, "You said that he emailed you when you were flying over and you were honest and told him that you needed separation, now is he giving you that? No!"

"But... I mean he needs me, and he says I'm the best at giving notes and critiques..."

"Oh please, stop excusing him..." Bonnie said, scoffing, "You asked him to leave you be, and he isn't... he's taking advantage of you like he always has and you just don't wanna see it that way..." Bonnie suddenly stopped and took Rebekah's hands in both of hers. "Rebekah Mikaelson, you're one of the sweetest people I've ever met and you have so much to offer the world. You deserve someone who sees the beautiful, kind, thoughtful, strong woman that I do and really appreciates you for who you are..." Rebekah started to feel a little teary eyed at Bonnie's ardent confession, and breathed out a tiny laugh and looked at the floor.

"You sound like my friend, Carol..."

"Sounds like a smart woman..." Bonnie said, smiling and squeezing Rebekah's hands. "Okay... now let's find you the rest of your outfit for your date..."

"It's _not a date_!" Rebekah groaned, shaking her head.

"That's what you think..." Bonnie said, pointing a finger at her and smiling, then returning to the clothing rack she'd been inspecting.

"Seriously, Bonnie... I'm not a home-wrecker... I couldn't do to any woman what was done to me..."

"Oh, I know that! Still... Matt just might see the light about Jules and profess his everlasting love and devotion to you and make you stay here stateside..." Rebekah laughed so hard she nearly snorted. Bonnie couldn't help but join in on the laughter.

"What? I can dream, can't I? I mean they've only been dating for less than a year..."

Rebekah let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on, I still need some sort of top and shoes to go with these jeans..."

* * *

Rebekah waved as she drove away from Bonnie's house. Bonnie yelled her thanks for giving her a ride as she waved from her doorway and she went inside and closed her door behind her. Rebekah turned on the radio, found a good song and popped her last Reeses Peanut Butter Cup in her mouth. _Oh god, I've missed these! _Rebekah moaned happily, savoring the chocolate and peanut butter. The last time she'd had a Reeses cup was when she and Damon were dating and he brought some back after his trip home to the U.S. Bonnie had laughed when she'd gotten all excited seeing them in the vending machine in the mall, but after learning that they didn't have them in the U.K. she immediately sympathized.

She swayed her head to the music, smiling and feeling in the best mood ever. She had spent the day with Bonnie and had the Killers concert with Matt tomorrow night, and Bonnie had talked her into going to a spa with her tomorrow before Matt picked her up; what more could she ask for? She stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few things for the next week and soon was turning the corner and approaching Caroline's neighborhood. She looked around enjoying the scenic houses and foliage, when she suddenly saw the little old man with the walker that she'd bumped into the other day. He was alone and he had a worried expression on his face, and Rebekah watched him and realized. _Oh no, is he lost? _she thought to herself, and as she drew closer, she knew she couldn't just pass by, so she found a good spot to stop and drove ahead of him and pulled over. She turned off the ignition and hopped out of the car and walked back towards him.

"Hello! How are you?" she said brightly. He looked up at her and blinked and didn't answer. Rebekah decided to stay up beat and not scare the poor man, so she kept smiling and added, "Might I give you a ride home?"

"Why? Do you know where I live?" the man asked, not sounding harsh, but honestly curious.

"I believe I do, yes!" she said just as brightly as before, trying to look and sound encouraging.

"Good... that makes one of us..." he said with a cheeky smile. Rebekah laughed and gestured to Caroline's car.

"Well then, shall we?"

"By all means..." the man answered, starting towards the car slowly, inch by inch with his walker.

"I'm Rebekah, by the way... Rebekah Mikaelson, I'm staying in your next door neighbor Caroline Forbes' house..."

"Very nice to meet you, Rebekah... My name is Alaric, Alaric Saltzman..."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Saltzman..."

"Oh please, call me Rick..."

"Only if you call me Bekah..."

"Can't argue with that logic..." Alaric said with a smile and Rebekah returned the smile. Before they knew it, they were pulling into Alaric's driveway.

"Here we are..." she said.

"You know," Alaric started, "there used to be 5 houses on this whole block... then more and more started popping up and the ones that had been here, like your friend's, were remodeled. That's why I couldn't figure out where I was, nothing looked like what I remembered..."

"Oh, well that would be confusing..." Rebekah sympathized. Alaric smiled at her.

"How do you spell your name?"

"Oh! Um, with a K-A-H... it's R-E-B-E-K-A-H..."

"The Biblical spelling..."

"That's right!"

"Is your family either Jewish or Polish?"

"Um, no, not to my knowledge..."

"I just wondered, it's a more faithful translation of the Hebrew... Spielberg debated whether to use your spelling or C-C-A when he was naming his daughter Sasha..."

"Oh really? That's interesting... how do you know that?"

"Because he told me once..." Alaric said nonchalantly as he turned to open the car door. Rebekah stared after him, stunned, before turning and scrambling out her side to fetch his walker and help him out.

"So... you, uh... worked for Steven Spielberg?" she asked, opening his walker and placing it in front of him.

"In a way..." Alaric said, taking hold of his walker and slowly starting towards the front door, "...I was a historical consultant for him when he came to Richmond to film that Lincoln movie..."

"Wait, the Lincoln movie he's making with Daniel Day-Lewis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tommy Lee Jones?" Rebekah said, shocked.

"Yep..." Alaric said nonchalantly again.

"So... you're a historian then?"

"Was..." Alaric corrected, "...over the last few years, I've helped consult for a few historical movies and TV series..."

"Really? That's incredible! Which ones?" Rebekah said, excitedly.

"Huh... hmmm... well, let's see..." Alaric said, pausing on the ramp leading up to his door to think. "Well, uh... there was that Civil War one with that blonde Australian actress and Julian Law, or something a few years back..."

"_Cold Mountain_? With Nicole Kidman and Jude Law?" Rebekah asked excitedly.

"Yes, that's the one... he was very nice, and I was very impressed by his Southern American accent... you Brits..." he said, winking at Rebekah, and she laughed. "Uh... I also consulted on that John Adams series with Paul Giamatti and Laura whats-her-name..."

"Laura Linney? I love her..." she all but squealed.

"Yes, she was very kind... Umm... I also worked on the TV movie about the suffragettes with that boxer girl and McSomething, the one with the hair, and the Sally Hemings TV movie with Sam Neill..." Ever the movie junkie, Rebekah's head was spinning as she realized the amazing list of award-winning directors and actors Alaric has worked with included Steven Spielberg, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, Frances O'Connor, Anjelica Huston and Vera Farmiga.

"That's incredible!" she managed to gasp.

"Yeah well... I liked Spielberg the best... I was very impressed with _Schindler's List _and _Saving Private Ryan_, and he let me pick his brain over lunch one day during the filming for _Lincoln_... I told him Schindler was never arrested for kissing a Jewish girl, only for black market trading, but he knew that, he said it was just a believable plot device... which I absolutely agreed with... not to his face, of course, but..." he said with a grin and Rebekah laughed.

"Nothing like scolding an Academy Award winner to brighten your day, eh, Rick?" Rebekah asked, unlocking his door for him and getting a laugh from Alaric.

"Yep... it keeps me young..." he joked, entering his house and depositing his walker before walking into his living room. Rebekah looked around and smiled, enjoying the warm and cozy feeling of Alaric's house. She saw thousands of books, most them historical ones of course, but she also saw maps and pictures, a few with his celebrity acquaintances, a few autographs, and she saw a black and white photo of a beautiful woman in a long white gown and she knew it must be of his wife Isobel, whom had recently died last year he informed her. She turned and saw him approaching his pitiful looking dinner of chicken and vegetables on a tray by the armchair and TV and realized how alone Alaric was. This must be a day that the aid she saw him with the last time wasn't with him or only with him part of the time. She cleared her throat.

"Well... goodbye then..." she said, and Alaric turned back to face her, "It was so good to meet you, Rick..."

"Well, thank you... thank you for rescuing me..." he replied with a wink.

"A pleasure..." she assured him, placing his keys on the hall table, then turning to leave. She paused and turned back.

"Actually... I've just arrived here, I'm here for two weeks on vacation and Caroline is staying at my home in London... I've only met a few people... if you're not busy, would you like to join me for dinner tonight?"

"'Busy'?" Alaric repeated, smirking, "Honey, I haven't been busy since 1978! Feel like Italian? I know a great place..."

Rebekah smiled widely at the adorable old man. "I love Italian... where to?"

* * *

Caroline groaned as she exited the taxi and stepped onto the street.

"Come on, Klaus! Tell me where we're going! I'm not good with surprises..."

"You'll know soon enough..." he laughed, tipping the cabbie and crossing to Caroline, offering up his arm, which she grudgingly took after rolling her eyes.

"Seriously... What if I don't like it?" she pouted, like she pouted the whole taxi ride over.

"Then we'll go somewhere else! Just wait and see, let loose and let someone else drive the car for a bit, will ya?" Klaus nudged her and Caroline couldn't help but smirk.

"So, what? You're saying that I`m basically an insecure, neurotic, control-freak, right?"

"I didn't say anything, love... But now that you mention it..." he said, with a smirk.

"Shut up!" she laughed, almost pushing him off the curb but she stopped short when she saw the sign of the building that they were approaching.

"The Savoy Grill?" she gasped.

"Mmhmm..." Klaus murmured.

"Isn't this Gordon Ramsay's restaurant?"

"One of them..."

"OH MY GOD! I LOVE GORDON RAMSAY!" Caroline squealed, but she stopped when she saw the knowing, cheeky smile on Klaus's face.

"Fine, I'm a terrible, awful person... but I'm working on it!" she admitted defensively. Klaus laughed and took her hand.

"Come on, love... let's get some food in you..." he said, leading her inside. Caroline glanced down at their entwined hands and smiled a bit to herself. Once they got inside, Klaus dropped their hands but it was only because a man in a chef's jacket greeted him loudly and pulled him into his arms to hug him.

"Klaus! How's it going, man?" the man said, hugging Klaus then pulling back and gripping his shoulders.

"Hey Nate... thanks for squeezing us in, mate..." Klaus said gratefully, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Anytime, Klaus... I owed you one anyway..." Nate said, shaking Klaus's shoulders teasingly, but then turned and grinned at Caroline. "So this is your lady friend?" Klaus rolled his eyes at his friend's description, but Caroline chuckled, so he smiled as well.

"Nate, this is Caroline, she's staying in Bekah's house while Bekah's on vacation in the States... Caroline, this is my good friend, Nate, sous chef and all around tosser..." he said, jokingly punching him on the shoulder.

"Bullocks! I've got more class in one finger than you have in your entire body, you twit..." he said, giving Klaus an indignant look while taking Caroline's hand and kissing it. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Forbes..." Klaus rolled his eyes and Caroline laughed, blushing slightly.

"Likewise... thank you so much for getting us a reservation!" Caroline smiled at Nate and he smiled back.

"Of course... I mean I couldn't say no, it's not easy to return favors for Klaus, so I had to jump at the chance," he said lightly with a smile, and Klaus grumbled.

"He exaggerates... how about you show us the table, there, Nate?" Nate looked back and forth between Caroline and Klaus and smirked.

"Sure thing, mate... Right this way..." he gestured for them to follow him, grabbing two menus and leading the way.

"Well Nate is quite the character..." Caroline whispered to Klaus, smiling.

"You don't know the half of it..." Klaus replied.

"What favor did you do for him?" she inquired.

"Trust me, you don't want to know..." he replied quickly, and she laughed.

"Here we are..." Nate said, stopping by a nice booth tucked in the corner, but still close by the kitchen.

"Thank you so much..." Caroline repeated as she took a seat.

"Of course," Nate said, waiting for them to sit before he handed them their menus. "And if you like seafood, Caroline, I suggest the Smoked haddock and king prawn fish cake with poached egg mustard sauce..."

"Oh, okay! That sounds delicious..."

"It is, and Nate cooks it the best..." Klaus assured, and Nate made a face and put his hand on his heart.

"Oh Klaus, I'm touched!" he said dramatically and Caroline laughed and Klaus shook his head at his friend. "But as Klaus knows, Caroline, if you'd like something else, just let me know, I can whip you up something from the dinner menu if you'd like, the staff knows Klaus well enough, they know I prepare his stuff..."

"Great! Thank you so much!" Caroline smiled.

"You're most welcome... Good to see you, Klaus..." Nate said, shaking Klaus's hand.

"Thanks, mate..." Klaus said, shaking his hand firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Caroline! Enjoy!" Nate said with a smile and a nod as he turned to go back to the kitchen.

"You too, Nate! Thank you!" Caroline called after him.

"Don't worry, it's all good, so you can't go wrong, no matter what you choose..." Klaus assured her. Caroline nodded and smiled, then scanned the menu. A friendly looking middle aged woman suddenly approached their table. Klaus smiled at the woman.

"Hello, Lisa, how are you, love..."

"Fantastic now that you're here, Klaus, darling!" Lisa smiled at Klaus, putting a hand on his shoulder, then smiled at Caroline, "And who is this lovely lady you've brought with you?"

"This is my friend, Caroline... Caroline, this is Lisa... she's been here as long as I've been coming here... at least as long as Nate's been here..."

"Longer! But don't tell anyone that... I can usually fool people when I tell them I'm only 37!" The woman fake whispered, and the pair laughed.

"It's so nice to meet you, Lisa..." Caroline smiled, extending her hand which Lisa took and shook.

"You too, dearie... you are just so pretty... I've never seen Klaus bring a girl in here before, much less one as gorgeous as you are!"

Caroline blushed, "Thank you... you're too kind..."

"Oh nonsense, ducky, you are! Anyway... now that I'm finished thoroughly embarrassing Mr. Critic over here, what will you be having to drink this afternoon?" she said with a knowing smile.

"I'll have a glass of the house red, Lisa, thank you... and Caroline?" he said, looking over across the table.

"Oh, no wine for me! I really should detox today..." Klaus chuckled and Caroline smiled up at Lisa, "I'll just have water with lemon please!"

"Right away! I'll give you lovebirds a chance to look over the menu then..." the woman said, winking at Klaus and walking away. Caroline and Klaus chuckled nervously with each other and stared at their menus, sneaking glances at each other here and there.

"So... um... you're a critic?" Caroline said, putting on her business face and wanting to break the awkward silence Lisa left them in. Klaus was grateful she did.

"Yes I am..."

"What kind of a critic?"

"A very mean one."

Caroline laughed, "No, you know what I mean, are you like a film critic? Or like a book critic?"

"I'm an art critique, actually... I write for an art magazine, _Art Monthly_. It's Britain's longest-established contemporary art magazine, it's based here in London. I actually started in 2007 when they started expanding their website in the hopes of reaching a more diverse contemporary art readership..."

"And what did you study in school?"

"I received both my Bachelor's Degree and my Master's in Fine Art..."

"And did you always know this is what you wanted to do?"

"Okay, my palms are starting to sweat," Klaus said, putting his menu down, "I feel like I'm on a job interview, do you by any chance know how to be on a date?"

"I'm sorry! Oh my gosh... I'm interrogating you..." Caroline said, blushing and covering half her face with her hand, and Klaus laughed, "...Sorry, the news reporter's coming out...I'm sorry, I haven't been on a first date in... a very long time..." she said, casting her eyes down at her place setting, embarrassed.

"Well... maybe since we've already had sex _and _slept together twice..." Klaus started, lowering his voice, "...maybe we can bend the first date rules..." It caused Caroline to raise her eyes up and look at him shocked that he said it out loud, in public, and glanced around to make sure no one heard him, but was relieved to see that they were in the perfect little nook in the corner that afforded them some much appreciated privacy.

"I mean, especially if you consider last night a date, I mean it was kind of a double date since Paul came with Torrey—why are you blushing?" Klaus suddenly stopped himself, gazing at Caroline.

Caroline covered her face with both hands when he mentioned her blush. "I didn't realize I was! I guess you make me nervous..." she laughed nervously to demonstrate what she meant, then added, "Okay! I'm going to try to be myself, which is never easy... but I'll try to be the non-neurotic version of myself..." she nodded to reassure both him and herself. Klaus nodded as well, and they realized that the conversation had suddenly stopped and they both spoke at once.

"So, um-"

"Oh right... so your question was: did I always know I wanted to critique art? The answer is yes and no... Art has always been a big part of my life, it's probably my greatest passion... it wasn't exactly what my parents had in mind, my father built a fortune capitalizing on producing firearms and other weaponry and my mother originated the White Witch Organic Skin Care line, it became pretty popular in France and a few other countries... so they both expected me to go into the business world, but when I started pursuing art, they decided if I was going into the art world I was going to be the best at art, so they immediately put me in classes at the Central Saint Martins College, which is part of the University of the Arts London." Caroline nodded and reacted periodically through Klaus's explanation, and when he finished looked at his empty wrist and smirked at her.

"Okay, I believe my time is up..." he said, giving her a knowing look and she realized he was telling her that he expected her to share with him now, and she felt her heart drop to the pit of her stomach.

"Really?" she said quickly, and Klaus saw her go a little pale and he placed he hand over hers on the table to reassure her. "Deep breaths..." Caroline nodded and followed his instructions, and when she saw his expression, she smiled and made a show of fanning herself and summoning up courage.

"Alright?"

"Yeah..." she breathed, then focused and looked at him and began, "Well as I mentioned last night with Paul and Torrey, I'm the executive producer for our local news syndicate in Mystic Falls..." Klaus made a face.

"I didn't realize you were the _executive producer_..."

"Hmm... that's probably because I didn't mention it," she admitted, although she didn't act concerned that she'd left out that detail and continued, "but now that I know that you were raised by a strong working mother, maybe I can say it and you won't be intimidated by it..." She finished, hoping that her gamble had paid off and that it justified leaving out that detail before. Klaus laughed.

"No no, I'm still a little intimidated by it..."

"Well 'a little' is perfect in my book... way better than I've gotten in the past..." she confessed, and Klaus nodded understandingly, before giving her a thoughtful look.

"And what about your family?"

Caroline sighed, hoping that she'd be able to skip right over that subject, but she conceded that having lunch with the brother of the woman whose house she was staying in probably wasn't the best way to avoid it.

"Okay, I'll say it fast..." Klaus blinked then let his face become neutral, not sure what Caroline was going to say next, and she took a deep breath and just dove in.

"My parents broke up when I was 15, I'm an only child, and I, uh..." Caroline blinked as she realized she couldn't figure out a more delicate way to say what she was thinking, so she was just honest and admitted, "...I didn't see it coming... we were really close, we used to call ourselves 'the Three Musketeers'..." Klaus reacted to her admission, but it was lost on Caroline, who had suddenly become very fascinated with her napkin holder.

"Then one night after dinner," Caroline continued, "they sat me down and told me that they were separating..." she laughed wryly, "...I thought they were joking... but that's when I saw that suitcase in the hallway out of the corner of my eye... and my dad moved out that night... and I think I cried myself to sleep for... well, a long time... then I realized I had to toughen up, get a thicker skin, so I got through it and..." she squinted her eyes embarrassedly, "...I sort of haven't cried since..." when Klaus's face looked sympathetic instead of appalled or shocked, she continued, "...I also haven't thought about that suitcase, like... ever... not in over 10 years... jeez Louise, that's a long time... God, that makes me feel old!" she said, shocking herself. "Anyway, that's my tragic little story... let's order!" she finished, holding her menu up in front of her face, which she knew must be beet red at the moment.

"Wait, wait, wait..." Klaus interrupted, gently lowering her menu to see her face, "You haven't cried since you were 15 years old?" Caroline sighed, afraid that he'd get as hung up on it as Tyler had and decided to make fun of herself in light of it.

"I know it must mean something awful... but... I mean I try! Honestly, I really do! I sat there for like 30 minutes after Tyler and I broke up trying to conjure up tears, and _nada_!"

"Right, but that could also mean that he wasn't worth crying over, Caroline..." he said, honestly, giving her a look and she laughed.

"That is very true and most likely why... Anyway, let's talk about you some more, please, I..." she started and he took the cue, he knew she'd bared a little more than she'd intended, but he appreciated her honesty, and he wanted to make sure she knew he wasn't judging her.

"Right! Absolutely, well... I cry all the time..." he said in a light tone and Caroline laughed and slammed her menu down.

"You do not!"

"Yeah, I do..." he said, very seriously even though he was smiling he stared her down, "...more than any woman you've ever met, I'm serious..."

"Please, don't humor me... you don't have to be this nice..." Caroline laughed, shaking her head at him disbelievingly.

"Well I know you happen to think it's solely for your sensitivities... but it's the truth... a good book, a great movie... a birthday card... I weep..."

"Shut up..." Caroline said in between hysterical laughs.

"I'm serious! I'm a major weeper! I am!" Klaus insisted, and Caroline laughed, loving how his accent turned the word 'weeper' into 'weepah.' From then on, the conversation flowed continuously and effortlessly. They laughed, shared food, and just enjoyed each other's company. Caroline couldn't believe how good a time she was having. She took up Nate on his suggestion and had the fish cake, and it was one of the most delicious things she'd ever tasted. She even caved and finally agreed to have a glass of wine with Klaus, but only one.

Caroline felt bad for enjoying the fact that the tables had turned from last night and now suddenly Klaus was the one with nearly a bottle of wine in his system and her being in control. They ordered their desserts, both agreeing to get a different one to share with the other, and by this time, Klaus was on his second glass of scotch so she decided to see what she could get out of him.

"Okay, so seriously, you've gotta offer up something better than being a 'weepah'..." Caroline mimicked his accent and he laughed, "...come on, I bared my soul! Now spill!"

"Ah... well what did you call your story? 'Tragic'? Well if you're looking for a tragedy, then look no further than this man, right here..." Klaus pointed to himself.

"Okay, most tragic life events..." Caroline laughed, "...and go!"

"Okay... well I told you that Finn is our eldest sibling, followed by Elijah, then myself, then Kol, then baby Bekah?"

"Mmhmm?"

"Well what I should've said was Finn is our eldest living sibling..."

"Oh?" Caroline froze, "Really?"

"Yep... My parents, my eldest brother Zachariah and Finn got into a car accident before Elijah or myself were even born, only my parents and Finn survived it, Zachariah didn't make it..."

"Oh my god... that's awful..." Caroline remarked sadly.

"Yeah, but it was long before I was born, Finn was super young and didn't even remember the accident, so my parents buried it deep in the past... Henrik, however, was a little harder to forget..."

"Who's Henrik?"

"Henrik was technically the baby of the Mikaelson clan... he was a lot younger than the rest of us, and it was pretty obvious he was an accident..." Caroline nearly choked on her sip of water.

"Um, why do you say that?"

"Well my parents began having serious issues when my mom was carrying Rebekah and after she was born, we all thought they'd get divorced, then out of nowhere came Henrik..." Klaus took another sip of his wine then looked very brooding. "My father was always a bit of a bastard really... he was always very hateful and spiteful, especially to me... and especially after Henrik died..."

Caroline gazed at Klaus and she knew she shouldn't pry, but she just had to know, "How did Henrik die, Klaus?" Klaus looked down at his place setting, his face suddenly clouded with shame and regret and slowly bit by bit, he recounted every last detail.

"I was about 16 or 17, so Henrik was around 8 or so, and it we were going through a bit of a rough time before my dad's company hit its stride, so I was working a job, just like Finn and Elijah to help support us all... I hated it, but with all of our combined efforts, we were making ends meet... it was not easy supporting a family of eight, but we managed somehow... anyway, there was this movie that Henrik wanted to see very badly... I sympathized with him, I knew all his friends and the other kids in his year were all going to see it, but we didn't have a lot of spare money to throw around for what my father called "frivolous expenditures"... but I'd kept a little money from one of my paychecks because I knew how badly he wanted to see it... so one night after I came home from work, we snuck out to go see it, and on the way home..."

Caroline reached over and placed her hand on top of Klaus's. "What happened, Klaus...?" Klaus balled up his fist under Caroline's hand and she rubbed it soothingly with her thumb and she saw him grit his teeth as he remembered.

"We were just walking home... and we lived in the worst bloody neighborhood, one of the most dodgy I've even known, and we were nearly home when we crossed paths with some thugs who kept harassing us and wouldn't leave us alone... The started scaring Henrik so I threw the last of the money I had at them and told them to piss off and one grabbed me and cold cocked me and one pulled a knife and it was all a blur..." Caroline could hear Klaus' voice wavering and she squeezed his hand. "...I don't know what happened, but I guess Henrik tried to protect me and..."

Caroline saw a single tear drop down Klaus's face, which he quickly wiped away with the back of his hand, but Caroline got up without a word and slid into Klaus's side of the booth next to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders and rubbed his arm with her other hand.

"All I remember is them shouting and running away, and when I picked myself up off the ground, Henrik was keeled over, blood seeping from his shirt... He died in my arms..."

"Oh, Klaus..." Caroline whispered, laying her head down on his shoulder and rubbing his arm more.

"My father never forgave me... not like it mattered, he always hated me..." Klaus laughed dryly, "...it was actually because of Henrik's funeral that I learned why... he had one too many drinks, like always, and got angry and yelled at me, saying that God took the wrong son, he should've taken the bastard mutt..."

"What?" Caroline gasped, raising her head up to look at him.

"Yep... apparently my mother had 'a moment of weakness' as she called it that drove her into the arms of another man... meaning the man that I took shit from for nearly 17 years wasn't really my father... and I was only a half-sibling to the people I'd grown up with my whole life..." he said humorlessly, throwing back the last of his scotch.

"Klaus... that is a terrible burden for anyone to take... much less at the age of 17..." Caroline said, trying to show him the compassion she knew he'd been due since he was a teenager.

"Yep... Bet you're glad I asked you out to lunch, eh?" he said, his humor becoming more stony and morose.

"I am, as a matter of fact..." Caroline said seriously, turning to face him more and clasping his hand with both of hers. Klaus, still staring at his place setting, scoffed tersely, and Caroline, frustrated that he didn't believe her, took hold of his chin and turned his face, forcing his eyes to meet hers.

"Niklaus Mikaelson, you are the most kind, considerate, warm, unselfish, noble, and loving man that I've ever been lucky enough to know... I have never felt more cared for and important in my life than when I'm with you, in your company, either publicly or intimately. You are a great person who shouldn't have a tragic past define who you are... Just because your father never loved you, you can't assume that no one else will either..." Klaus tried to turn his face away but Caroline held her ground and wouldn't budge, "And that's why you're relationships with the rest of your family are strained, and why you have one night stands, it's because you won't let anyone in, Klaus... And Henrik would not have wanted you to carry this burden around for half your life... he just wouldn't Klaus..." Klaus took in everything Caroline had said and finally sighed, blinking back the rest of his tears, gratitude and admiration in his eyes.

"Caroline... I..." he started slowly, but she put a finger to his lips and smiled and shook her head slightly, searching his eyes. He closed his mouth and smiled, knowing that she wasn't expecting a reply and was stunned and couldn't believe how lucky he was to meet someone who just got him. Caroline's eyes flickered back and forth between his eyes and his lips, before slowly bringing her lips to his in a sweet kiss. She had let go of his hand and was gently cradling his face in both of her hands. Klaus surrendered himself to the sweet release and placed his hands over hers and when she pulled away and he rubbed his thumbs on her hands, which were still on either side of his face. He gazed into her eyes and mouthed his thanks, and Caroline just smiled at him. They suddenly heard a throat clear and they looked over and saw Lisa standing by apologetically, holding a dessert in each hand.

"Sorry, I hate to interrupt, really I do, but these won't last forever, and they're best when their fresh, trust me!" Caroline and Klaus laughed and straightened in their seats.

"Thank you, Lisa... we'll take them now..." Caroline said, smiling at the kind, sweet lady. Lisa smiled at her and placed the desserts in front of them without another word and left them. Caroline turned to look at Klaus and smiled.

"Nothing like desserts for a broken heart..." Caroline said cheerfully, her hand moving from the back of his neck where she'd been rubbing her thumb gently, and picking up her dessert fork.

"I think my heart's already mending..." Klaus said, gazing at Caroline, and Caroline paused, and looked at him from the corner of her eye and could tell he wasn't looking at the desserts. Caroline couldn't keep the small smile from gracing her face, but she decided to change the subject to a lighter one and dipped her fork into her dessert. She murmured approvingly and she heard Klaus's voice.

"Good?"

"Positively scrumptious! Here have some..." she said, getting a forkful for him and feeding him right from her fork. He murmured and nodded in agreement.

"You got the cherries jubilee right?" he asked.

"Mmhmm! What about you? What did you get again?"

"Chocolate marquis with lavender ice cream..." Klaus said, holding out his fork for her to try some, which she did and murmured.

"Oh, you definitely got the winner... not that this is bad, but... I may just have to steal that from you..." she grinned, stealing a big forkful, and Klaus yanked the plate away as she stuffed it in her mouth.

"Hey! I thought we were sharing..." Klaus said, defensively throwing a hand over his dessert and Caroline gave him a serious face.

"We are... you're just going to be sharing the rest of that dessert!" Caroline said, before cracking a smirk, and trying to get another forkful of his dessert.

"Hey! Watch that fork, Blondie..." he said with a smile, deflecting her attack.

"Who're you calling 'Blondie,' Curly?" she said, placing her hand in his hair and tousling his curls. The pair laughed and enjoyed their desserts with Nate and Lisa watching them from afar and smiling.

* * *

After they'd finished lunch, they said gave thanks and said goodbye to Nate and Lisa, and left the Savoy Grille and walked for a bit, holding hands and fingers laced and Caroline groaned.

"God, I'm so stuffed... I'm gonna be as big as a house by the time I leave..."

"I like a girl with a little meat on her bones..." Klaus said with a grin.

"Oh do you?" Caroline quirked an eyebrow at him and paused on the sidewalk.

"That's what I just said," Klaus said, pulling her close.

"Oh, well I didn't say I was right now, so I guess we'll have to go find you one..." Caroline said, pulling away from him, but Klaus grabbed her before she could escape.

"Too bad..." he smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning his face down. Caroline met him halfway and as they kissed, her fingers buried themselves in his hair. The kiss deepened and she tugged on his hair gently, pulling him in tighter and he tightened his grip on her waist, pulling her to him. She thought she'd die feeling her lower body pressed so close to his and she pulled her lips away from him and rested her forehead on his.

"Do you wanna...?" she gasped.

"Abso-fucking-lutely..." he breathed.

"Good..." she said, resolved to get them back to the house as quickly as possible. She turned and flagged down a taxi on her first try and they clambered into the cab. Caroline gave the cabbie Rebekah's address and before they even pulled away, Klaus was kissing the side of Caroline's face and jaw. She gasped and leaned into his kiss before turning her head and capturing his lips again. Klaus grabbed her her face and pulled her close, and soon broke away from her lips to plant kisses down her jaw and neck. Caroline gasped, but suddenly felt self-conscious making out with him in the back seat of the cab with the cabbie inches from them.

"Wait, Klaus..."she gasped, and Klaus raised his head to look at her, and then he saw her embarrassed face and followed where she was glancing and realized she was indicating the cabbie.

"I apologize..."

"No, don't... I mean, I want you just as much... just... wait, not here..." she assured him quietly, touching his cheekbone. Klaus didn't say a word, but took hold of Caroline's hand that was touching his face and placed soft kisses to her fingertips. Caroline smiled sweetly and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before scooting away from him, since she barely trusted herself to keep her hands to herself, much less him. She looked over and saw him staring stonily out the window and she looked down and saw his hand resting on the seat in between them, so she took his hand and laced her fingers with his like they had when they walked on the street together. He turned and looked down at their entwined hands and looked up at her and saw her watching him, smiling. He raised up their hands and placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

A few minutes later, they were walking up the pathway to Rebekah's cottage, still holding hands. Klaus hadn't made a move, not even to kiss her since the cab left, but Caroline didn't question it as she unlocked the front door and they stepped inside. They released their hands to take off their coats and Caroline took off her arm warmers and hat and tossed them on the table by the coat rack. She looked at Klaus and smiled but he still seemed distant and deep in thought, so Caroline shrugged.

"I guess I'll... make us some tea or something..." she said, crossing into the kitchen. _What I'd really like right now is a drink, _she thought to herself, _Did I blow it? I wasn't totally rejecting his advances, I just didn't want to be going at it in the back of a cab... _She thought as the water started boiling and she gathered some tea bags and put them in mugs. She didn't know if he took his tea with milk so she turned to go get it out of the fridge, but was surprised by turning and seeing him standing right in her path.

"Jesus... Klaus, you scared the crap out of me!" she scolded, but stopped cold when she saw his undecipherable expression.

"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked, but he didn't say a word and walked towards her slowly, and when they were finally face to face, he brought his hands up slowly and began caressing her face with his fingertips. They barely ghosted across her skin and Caroline's brain and senses were going haywire from the moment he started walking towards her taking in everything he did and everything that was happening. He'd stopped so deliberately close, she was amazed that they seemed to be pressing against each other when he didn't use a single hand to bring their bodies together. If she hadn't been so fascinated with his actions, her eyes would've slipped closed the moment his fingertips touched her skin. They seemed to dance along her skin, moving along her cheekbones and the sides of her face, then he slowly leaned down and placed his lips on hers.

It barely seemed like a kiss, it was merely lips touching, but a million different things were buzzing around in Caroline's head as it happened since he kept his hands on her face. He cradled her face even more gently than she had when she'd held his face in the restaurant, and Caroline was humming with desire. She moaned softly and attempted to deepen the kiss, which Klaus allowed but he kept the pace achingly slow. She came to realize that Klaus's hands on her face were keeping her from falling to the ground in a boneless, jelly-like mess, and once she regained the feeling in her fingers, she moved her hands up to take their rightful place in his hair.

She felt his hands slowly move away from her face, so she clung to his head to keep from falling, but even though his hands merely slid down her body, she knew he'd never let her fall. His hands moved tantalizingly down her sides and slid her shirt up her sides like they had the last time they they had sex and Caroline, overwhelmed by the anticipation, moved slightly and pulled her sleeveless Givenchy blouse off, pulling her bolero with it, tossing it on the floor. She moved back to kiss him, and as he kissed her, his hands were back on her body and they slid down her body, and they moved over butt and hooked themselves on the back of her legs. She realized what he was trying to do, so she grabbed onto the back of his neck and jumped up into his arms, allowing his to catch her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. Instead of turning and carrying her up to the bed like she expected, he took hold of her, and gently moved her back and placed her on the countertop. She was intrigued but never let her lips leave his the entire time.

When he'd placed her down, he pulled away and held her face and gazed at it for a moment, and Caroline smiled at him, happy to see the Klaus she recognized gazing back at her. He brought his face back to hers, but instead planted a kiss to the corner of her mouth and proceeded to kiss way down her jaw and down her neck. Caroline moaned and, feeling him place light kisses across the top of her breasts, reached behind herself and unfastened her black lacy bra and tossed it across the room without a second thought. He gazed at her before lowering his head down and taking a nipple in his mouth, swirling it with his tongue. Caroline let her head fall back against the cabinet, letting him ravish each breast before he trailed his mouth down her stomach and stopping at the waistband of her pleated, grey tweed mini skirt.

He suddenly stopped his ministrations with his mouth and bunched up the skirt around her waist, revealing her black tights and black panties. Caroline could practically hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest as if it were amplified on a speaker, and watched Klaus as he slowly and deliberately pulled her tights down her legs, keeping his eyes on hers the entire time. When her panties joined her tights, forgotten on the floor somewhere, he slowly crawled up her body, kissing her calves and slowly placing kisses up her legs before he stopped level with her waist again and made sure the skirt was bunched up adequately around her waist. He watched her chest heave as her breathing got heavy and kept his eyes on hers his lips descended and he kissed his way up her thighs until his mouth was fully on her. Caroline cried out and buried her hands in his hair, her fingernails lightly skimming his scalp and his movements increased, and Caroline audibly reacted to everything she felt him doing. Very quickly she was undone, ironically just the kettle started to whistle, and Klaus kissed up her body before turning the stove off and moving the kettle aside.

He went back to Caroline and she wrapped her arms around him, pressing her face to his shoulder, but she became annoyed at his thin sweater being a barrier and moved away to pull it quickly up and off his body and returned to the same spot, kissing his shoulder and stroking his back with her fingertips. He suddenly moved and scooped her up off the counter, holding her behind her back and behind her knees and moved towards the stairs and Caroline planted kisses along his chest the whole way there. When they arrived at the bedroom, Caroline had already kissed up his neck and face and was sucking gently on his earlobe, he gently placed her down the bed. He buried his hands in her hair, pulling her face to his but Caroline pulled him down on top of her and one he was down, she rolled him over. She quickly rid him of his jeans and pants, but he pulled her back into his arms and she sat his lap and faced him.

He looked like he was about to say something, but instead he took his hand and let his palm trail the side of her face until his pointer finger trailed down her neck and collar bone and circled her shoulder. She watched his face until she finally placed her own palm to his face, and holding his face, moving her hand down from the top of his face to cupping his chin and he suddenly gasped. She realized it was because she had pressed her other palm to his chest, over top of his heart, and although the movement had not be as deliberate as the one on his face, it was nonetheless natural to Caroline. After he gasped, the last thing she expected was to feel his big warm hand press to the one the that was on his heart, but Caroline felt her own heart tug as she felt that his heart was beating just as fast as hers. She smiled and took his other hand and placed it over her own heart to show him how their heartbeats matched and he smiled back at her. She knew then and there that every time with Klaus would be like the first time. She had never had this much chemistry with anyone and she knew she'd never be able to be with another man like she was with Klaus. She was just herself.

She leaned in to rub the tip of her nose to his before capturing his lips with hers again, and their tongues came together in a harmonious dance and wrapped their arms around each other. Their bodies pressed so close she didn't even realize that they had become one and as they held onto each other, wrapped in the others embrace, they moved as one. It was so beautiful, any other person would've been brought to tears, but since Caroline lacked them, her body reacted to the emotional union by trembling. It only made Klaus hold her tighter, hoping to quell her trembling, which in turn made Caroline cling to him more tightly, wrapping her arms tightly securely around his shoulders. Klaus's arms were wrapped around her torso, they were practically squeezing themselves together, but Caroline knew that the either could never be closer to the other.

Caroline felt her release building and unburied her head from the side of Klaus's neck and pulled him in for a kiss, holding the back of his head, and Klaus mirrored her movements, his fingers rooting themselves amidst her long blonde locks. Their movements continued and Klaus placed hot kisses all the way down her chest and began ravishing her breasts once more. It sent a wave of pleasure shooting through her body and she couldn't help but let her head fall back, overcome and consumed by desire and wanting to give him better access to continue his actions. It was only a matter of moments, but suddenly Caroline's head snapped back forward.

"Klaus..." she breathed and his head snapped up as well. It was the first time they'd spoken since he moved towards her in the kitchen and he studied her face, but they continued to move together and Caroline held his face with both hands. It seemed like she was going to kiss him, but she kept their lips a hair's width away, their breath intermingling and she kept her eyes locked on his.

She soon fell over the edge and moaned gripping onto the back of Klaus's head and neck, shuttering slightly and watching her lose herself all the while looking at him made him follow soon behind her. They held each other, even after climaxing, and Klaus finally moved and raised his hand to her face, caressing her cheek with the palm of his hand and swiping his thumb across her bottom lip before pressing his lips gently to hers.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_Hope you guys liked it! R&R!


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** First of all, I AM SO SO SORRY FOR THIS EXTENDED HIATUS! It has been a crazy semester for me coming out of the summer and jumping into classes, but this story has always been on the back of my mind, and I know where everything's going, it's just a matter of having time to put it down on paper. In a document. You know what I mean. I have a lot of work to get done this Thanksgiving break, but I promise to work on it bunches over Christmas! Woo-hoo! One whole month of relaxation!

Any who, here it is, the long awaited Mabekah date and Klaroline's... second date? Third date? Eh, I'm losing track, but more Klaroline fluffiness :)

Also, a SPOILERS note, if you haven't seen the movie Zombieland, I highly recommend that you do, trust me, I'm the least likely person to choose a zombie movie but it's so well written, the cast is great and it's just all around entertaining: funny and heartbreaking and kick-ass all wrapped up into one movie. But I describe one of the scenes towards the end of the movie, so if you're not a fan of spoilers, you can skip over those bits a little but it doesn't really give away the whole movie. I mean, Jesse Eisenberg is kind of upfront in the movie about wanting to "meet a girl to bring home to the folks" so the little detail I gave doesn't spoil the end in my opinion...

So! Without further ado...

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE**

Rebekah walked down the stairs just as she heard the doorbell ring, and she smiled when she looked down at her watch. _5:00 o'clock on the dot, just like he said,_ she thought to herself. She checked herself in the mirror in the foyer before opening the door and she smiled back at the smiling face that greeted her.

"Hello!" Matt said, the biggest smile on his face.

"Hi!" Rebekah replied, so excited just to see him.

"Wow... You look..." Matt said, his gaze trailing down to take in Rebekah's appearance. He didn't finish his sentence, so Rebekah took that to mean that she and Bonnie had done well picking out her outfit. To go with the black skinny jeans, they had found a cute black strapless bustier top with gold polka dots and a ruffled hem, and Bonnie had insist that she get a leather jacket when Rebekah admitted she didn't own one. It was all tied together with gold accents here and there with her jewelry. And Rebekah had to admit, she felt like a movie star after the VIP treatment she and Bonnie got at the spa that morning. She was done up from head to toe and felt like a brand new woman.

"Well thanks, you don't look so bad yourself..." she smiled, walking out and locking the door behind her. Matt was wearing a black t-shirt with the Killers logo printed multiple times in different colors on it and dark wash jeans and a black leather jacket. He was freshly showered and shaved and he smelled like a nice musky cologne.

"Aqua Di'Gio?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Matt was still gazing at her, but then he suddenly realized what she was saying and snapped out of it. "Oh! Yeah! Wait... How did you know that?"

"Told you, four brothers..." she laughed, and Matt joined in.

"Oh! Right! Haha you probably know every cologne there is for guys!"

"Pretty much..." Rebekah said, shrugging with a smile.

An hour later, they were sitting in a trendy little restaurant in Richmond's West End sipping drinks waiting for their appetizer to arrive.

"This dip better be as good as you say, Matt... I'm starving!"

"Have I ever let you down before?" he said, taking a sip of his whiskey on the rocks.

"You haven't known me long enough to let me down yet..."

"Point taken... Guess you're just gonna have to trust me then..." he said with a smile, leaning closer to her.

"Guess so..." Rebekah sighed, pretending to be worried, "...putting my trust in a total stranger... Most people would advise against it..."

"Well then here is to the first night of a great friendship..." Matt said holding up his glass to toast. Rebekah only smiled and held up her glass and clinked the rim to the rim of Matt's glass and both took a sip.

"Mmmm... Well if their food is as good as this drink, it'll be a good start to the friendship,"

"I told you, Mosaic has the best cocktails and food... It's one of my favorites in Richmond, I was debating between here and Galaxy... We should go there after the concert to get milkshakes..."

"Whatever you say... You're the captain of this cruise, I go where you go..." she smiled at Matt. Just as Matt was smiling back, an elderly woman that had been sitting two tables away from them suddenly stopped at their table as she walked past.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt," the woman started, "but I just had to say that you two are the most adorable couple I've ever seen..."

"Oh, we're not..." Matt started.

"He's not my..." Rebekah said at the same time as Matt.

"Oh! Oh I'm so sorry! I just assumed, an attractive couple like the two of you..."

"No, no, we're just friends..." Matt assured her.

"New friends at that..." Rebekah added with a smile.

"Well you're a very lucky man then," the woman said, patting Matt on the shoulder since he was sitting closest to her, "she is absolutely gorgeous! You better buy this young lady dinner!" Rebekah laughed uncomfortably and covered her face but Matt laughed wholeheartedly.

"Yes ma'am, I was planning on it..." he smiled.

"Good man..." she smiled and patted his shoulder again, "well, I'm sorry to interrupt your night, have a nice evening, you two..." she said as she walked away and waved goodbye.

"You as well... Goodnight..." they waved goodbye. They turned back to one another and laughed awkwardly. Rebekah thanked the universe for having the waiter bring their appetizer right at that moment.

"Well, it smells delicious..." Rebekah said, grabbing a pita chip.

"Just wait, trust me... You're gonna die..." Matt replied with a smirk. Rebekah dug into the warm gouda cheese dip topped with Parmesan and real crumbles of bacon and took a bite.

"Oh my god..." she groaned.

"So good you can feel your arteries clogging?" Matt smiled.

"Exactly... And I don't care which is not good at all..."

"Just drown your sorrows in another bite..." Matt grinned, gathering some dip on a pita chip for himself.

"Good call..." Rebekah said, grabbing another chip and digging into the dip again. She moaned again in delight and Matt laughed. Rebekah swallowed and laughed.

"What?! Fine, you were right! It was worth the wait!"

"No, no... it's not that..." he laughed, and he suddenly was leaning across the table and reached for her face. Rebekah froze, staring into Matt's eyes questioningly. Matt help her face with his hand.

"You've got a little cheese..." he said as he swiped some cheese from the corner of her bottom lip with his thumb. Rebekah's heart fluttered in her chest and she gasped a quick intake of breath. Matt pulled back his hand quickly and cleared his throat, realizing how forward his action was and becoming embarrassed.

"Sorry," Matt said, blushing, "I uh, didn't think you wanted to wear cheese dip the rest of the night..."

"Well that's very considerate of you," Rebekah cleared her throat and smiled at him, "but I happen to think that cheese dip goes perfectly with this outfit..."

Matt laughed at her joke, "Well if you say so... All I can say is you look great, I lack the fashion knowledge to adequately compliment your outfit..."

"Good, Bonnie said that it was my duty as your arm candy tonight to look stellar, so mission accomplished I guess..." Rebekah smiled.

"I am so honored that you two gave me that much consideration... I'm the luckiest guy at the concert tonight with you as my... 'arm candy'?" he laughed, "God that even sounds like Bonnie..."

"I know right." Rebekah laughed, "When she first said it, I had no idea what she meant, we don't have that phrase in England, so she had to explain it to me!" The pair laughed and after that, the rest of their meal flowed smoothly and there wasn't one more awkward moment the whole time.

* * *

Soon before Rebekah knew it, they were downtown at the Coliseum waiting to file in the doors and get to their seats. Once they were past security, they were directed upstairs to where their seats were, and as they approached the staircase they passed a merchandise table.

"Ooooh, can we stop for a tick, Matt? I really want to get a shirt, I'm so jealous you've got one..."

"Sure, I actually think I'll get one myself... I got this one at the concert I went to years ago..." he said as they walked towards the table, "God, when was that... In Fairfax in 200...7? Jesus that makes me feel old!"

"Don't even get me started, a co-worker of mine brought her 14 year old daughter into work a couple weeks ago, she said that she and her friends were going to a decade dance and they were going as the Spice Girls... 'you know, from the 80's,'" Rebekah's voice changed as she imitated the ditzy young girl's voice.

"Seriously, jeez hasn't she heard of Google? I'm a guy but I know they weren't from the 80's," Matt laughed, "Oh god, I can remember Caroline, Bonnie and Vickie all dressing up and dancing around our living room and fighting because Bonnie and Vickie both wanted to be Ginger Spice and Bonnie protesting just because she's black doesn't mean she always had to be Scary Spice..."

Rebekah laughed, "I had the same problem with my friends... No one ever wanted to be Scary Spice..." They both laughed and were greeted by a guy wearing a Killers shirt, lanyard with a pass that said "Tour Personnel" and a visor with "Merchandise" stitched at the top.

"Hey, how's it going?" the Merchandise guy said in a friendly tone, smiling widely at Rebekah.

"Not too bad, and yourself?" she smiled back.

"Better now that you're here..." he smiled, and Rebekah chuckled, and after he glanced at Matt, continued, "...anyway, what can I interest you in?"

"I'd like a shirt, but I'm not sure which one!" she said.

"Well these two are our most popular..." the Merchandise guy indicated two different choices and Rebekah studied the two and turned to Matt.

"Which do you think?"

"I like either... but I would say that this one seems more you though..." Matt said, pointing to the dark grey shirt with the Sunray Heartburst and hot pink the Killers logo.

"You'd look great in either..." the Merchandise guy added, causing Claire to blush and laugh and Matt to glare at him. The guy caught Matt's eye and cleared his throat and looked away quickly, seemingly silenced.

"I'll take the Heartburst..." Rebekah nodded, happy with the shirt, and took out her wallet, "...and can I have a Medium please? I know I'll probably muck it up in the wash..."

"And I'd like a large of the Lone Ranger one..." Matt said, pointing to the wire grid wall behind the Merchandise table.

"You've got it!" the guy said, turning to dig through the corresponding boxes containing the shirts they selected. Rebekah took the opportunity to whisper to Matt with the Merch guy distracted.

"Well I must say, I've enjoyed how friendly everyone one in America is so far..."

"Yeah, well dressed like that, I'd be surprised if he wasn't friendly to you... and I do give him credit for being so confident with a guy at your side..."

"Jealous are we?" she giggled, and the guy turned back to them with each of their shirts.

"So is this together or separate?"

"Together!" Rebekah said quickly, already brandishing her credit card.

"What?! No!" Matt said almost as quickly as Rebekah had.

"I insist! You bought dinner... shirts are on me..." she said boldly, thrusting her card towards the Merch guy, smiling at him and batting her eyelashes to make sure he'd take her payment over Matt's.

"Sure thing..." he smiled, taking her card and going back to run the card through the portable credit machine.

"You don't have to do this, Bekah..."

"But I want to... you're the one taking me out for a night on the town, it's the least I can do to say thank you..."

"Hey, you're my arm candy, remember? That's enough for me..." he smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. They must have been pretty distracted gazing at each other because they suddenly realized that the guy was back in front of them and had to clear his throat to get their attention.

"Just... uh, sign the dotted line there..." the guy said, placing her card, the receipt slip and a pen down in front of Rebekah, his gaze flitting back and forth between the two.

"Thanks!" Rebekah said, taking her card and slipping it back in her cross body bag and taking up the pen to sign the paper. She finished and handed him the paper and pen with a smile.

"Thanks!"

"Thank you, you guys enjoy the show..." the guy answered, looking between the two, sounding considerably more platonic. Matt smirked triumphantly and Rebekah rolled her eyes at him.

"Feel better?"

"Absolutely..." he replied with a stupid smile. Rebekah smiled and rolled her eyes with a sigh.

"Men..."

The concert was fantastic and Rebekah and Matt were having a blast. They were positioned house left up at a 45 degree angle from the stage, and they had a great view of the stage and the projection screens hanging above the band on the left and right. Matt also got them aisle seats, which Rebekah loved; when she commented on it, they both agreed on how much they detested stepping over people in seating situations like concerts or movies.

Some songs they completely rocked out and Matt faked annoyance at not having "luscious locks" to head bang with like Rebekah; others they stood swaying their cellphones along with everyone else. "Runaways" began and Matt turned to Rebekah, his voice raising slightly to overcome the volume of the music.

"Hey, you want a beer?"

"Sure!" Rebekah answered, taking off her jacket to put in her seat and follow him.

"No no, you stay! I'll go get them!"

"No, Matt, it's fine, I'll come with you..."

"No way! You bought the shirts, I'm buying beers..." he insisted.

"Matt, you already bought me dinner, seriously I-"

"Nope, no way, your money may have been good at the merch table, but it's no good at the snack bar..."

Rebekah smiled at Matt's adorable stubbornness, "Thanks, Matt... Next drinks are on me though..."

"Deal... Any preference?"

"Nope, I'll drink whatever!"

"I'll be back... If I'm not back in 10, come find me so you can occupy me in line... I have the attention span of a two year old..." he said as he walked down the stairs to exit their section.

"Sounds more like a one year old if you ask me!" she called after him, and returned the face that Matt made at her comment.

The song finished and the band started "Somebody Told Me" and Rebekah whipped out her phone to shoot Matt a text.

_ Hurry up, loser! You're missing the good stuff! ;)_

Rebekah smiled as her phone confirmed text had been delivered and she suddenly heard a voice beside her before her phone was even in her pocket.

"Hey gorgeous... Enjoying the concert?" a guy with shaggy blonde hair in a t-shirt, jeans and a zipper hoodie sidled up beside Rebekah in the spot where Matt would've been standing.

"Fine thanks..." she replied curtly, immediately getting bad vibes from him and not wanting to encourage banter.

"Oooh, I love a girl with an accent... Listen, me and my buddies were wondering why a sexy girl like you would go to a concert alone? Want some company?"

_Buddies? _Rebekah thought to herself and she looked past the guy and saw two similarly skeevy guys leering at her, who nodded like tools to acknowledge that they were associated with Goon #1. _Of course there's more than one..._

"You know as nice as that sounds, I think I'm okay here... Have a nice night..." Rebekah responded sardonically and turned back to watch the stage, attempting to give him the cold shoulder.

"C'mon babe," Goon #1 said, casually draping his arm around Rebekah's shoulders, "don't be like that..." Rebekah looked down at his arm before staring him down as icily as she could muster.

"Firstly, I'm not your 'babe'..." she said, shrugging his arm off her shoulder, "Secondly, I told you I have no interest in joining you, so kindly piss off..." she said, her tone strong.

"Mmmm I like a girl with a little bite to her..." he said suddenly burying his face in her hair and she was horrified as she realized he was trying to kiss her neck.

"Get off me!" she growled, shoving him as hard as she could, but he only latched on to her more.

"Is there a problem here?"

Rebekah knew that voice and had never felt more relieved in her life. She and Goon #1 looked up and over to see Matt standing in the aisle, a bottle of beer in each hand, with an intimidating look on his face.

"Who are you?" Goon #1 asked in a accusatory tone.

"I'm the ex-high school quarterback who can still bench press my weight and a half, and if you don't take your hands off of my girlfriend in the next 3 seconds, you **will** regret it, dude..."

Rebekah and the Goon both froze.

_Did he just say 'girlfriend'?!_ Rebekah thought and she heard the Goon's sputtering response.

"Goldilocks never mentioned a boyfriend..." he said incredulously.

"Probably because she was trying to spare you from a world of embarrassment and the biggest ass-kicking of your entire life... in front of your friends..." Matt replied, gesturing with his head at Goon #2 and Goon #3 behind him. Both were ducking down in their seats and trying to be unnoticed, but still stealing furtive glances at the altercation.

_Of course, you're okay with overpowering a girl but you're scared shitless of one guy... Bloody assholes..._ Rebekah thought darkly.

"Now if you would let her go, apologize to her, and slink back to join your spineless friends, I won't break you so bad that you beg `me to hand you over to security."

Goon #1 looked at Matt for only a second and knew he was serious and quickly let go of Rebekah and muttered his apology.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Matt said forcefully and loudly, and inclining his ear towards the guy as if he was attempting to hear him better.

"I'm sorry!" the guy said in a higher volume, looking up to make sure Rebekah heard him before scurrying out of the row and past Matt, muttering an apology to him as well and going to join his friends.

"Have a nice night!" Matt called after him before taking his place back beside Rebekah. "Sorry I took so long, hon, I think you'll be needing this..." he added loudly as he handed her the beer in his hand closest to her and used his newly free arm and draping it across Rebekah's shoulders and pulling her close.

"Girlfriend?" Rebekah said in a low voice, glancing over at the Goons who were alternating between muttering to each other and looking over at her and Matt.

"Sorry I left my stick for you to beat guys away with in the car..."

Rebekah laughed and added, "Damn 'Arm Candy' outfit!"

"No kidding! I leave you alone for 5 minutes and look what happens... You start getting hit on like a slab of meat in a butcher's shop..." Matt chuckled.

Rebekah laughed along with him but saw the trio glaring over at them from the center section.

"They're still watching us..." she murmured.

"Ignore them, but get closer to me, we've gotta sell ourselves as a real couple... I won't let them get to you, but three to one is not a fair fight..." he murmured back.

"Hey, I could dish out an ass-kicking too..." Rebekah whispered back as she wrapped her arm around Matt's waist.

Matt laughed, "I know you can..." and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Rebekah felt butterflies in her stomach as Matt's lips pulled away from her head, but she felt herself settle into resting into Matt's body and was amazed at how comfortably they fit together. She knew that Matt really saved her, because while she might have been able to fend off the one, if all three of those goons had tried to overwhelm her, they would have succeeded. And from glancing around them, she didn't see a single person acknowledging what had just happened to her; either from truly being engrossed in the concert or obviously not wanting to get involved.

Gratitude for Matt appearing as her own personal knight in shining armor spread through her, filling her with a comforting warmth. She gazed up at Matt, who was attempting to act normal, and had turned back to the concert and took a swig from his beer, and she leaned up and pressed a soft kiss firmly to his cheek. Matt gulped down the beer in surprise.

"Wha-what was that for?"

"For making me feel safe..." Rebekah smiled, before taking a sip from her own beer and placing her head on his shoulder. She smiled softly as she heard Matt take a deep breath and then clear his throat, obviously taken off guard by the kiss.

"Of course... I mean, that's what... friends are for..." he murmured. Rebekah only responded by nuzzling her head into Matt's shoulder more.

The rest of the concert went smoothly and after the concert was over, instead of going out to get milkshakes, Rebekah insisted on going back to Caroline's for sundaes since she discovered Caroline's secret stash of ice creams in the bottom of her freezer drawer and the candy and toppings buried in the back of the pantry. After an easy drive back to Mystic Falls, Matt and Rebekah were sitting and enjoying their desserts at the island in Caroline's kitchen, which was still covered in the evidence of their sundae blitz.

"I mean I knew Caroline was a closeted junk food junkie, but this takes addiction to a whole new level..." Matt laughed, taking another hearty bite of his gigantic sundae, composed of a mixture of birthday cake ice cream, chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and a million different toppings.

"Yeah, I need to inventory what sweets I go through so I can replace them... I'd hate it if I got back home and Caroline had depleted my secret stash..." Rebekah added, taking another bite of her own sundae, made of cookies and cream ice cream, Reese's Pieces, chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sprinkles.

"Oh really? What's in your secret stash at home?" Matt said, licking his spoon clean.

"Well I just ran out of my supply of peanut butter cups I had stocked up... I think I finished them all off that night Caroline contacted me about the house swap..." Rebekah thought, remembering how upset and distraught she'd been after hearing Damon and Elena's engagement, she had binged on her secret stash in the hopes of it making her feel better. She decided to not mention that bit to Matt and continued, "But my stash typically includes a Double Decker and a Galaxy Ripple..."

"They sound good... you wanna know what else is good... this combination of ice cream..." Matt bragged and Rebekah laughed. "...I'm serious! You know what a cookie cake is, right?"

"Yes, Bonnie and I split a piece when we went shopping the other day, when we were in the mall..."

"Well get a bit of cookie dough and a bit of the birthday cake ice cream, and I swear it'll blow your mind..." Matt said, digging out the ice cream from underneath the mountain of topping he had to offer Rebekah some of his sundae. Rebekah laughed and shook her head, but obligingly took a bit of each to the ice creams and hesitantly tasted them, giving Matt a look as she did. She gave the flavors a moment to intermingle, then gave him a surprised look.

"Oh my god... It really does taste like cookie cake..." she smiled.

"Crazy right? I got the hint from a customer who kept ordering half-cookie dough, half-birthday cake milkshakes when I worked at the Grille one summer..."

"Amazing... truly inspired..." Rebekah said, taking another helping.

"Hey hey! Don't boggard my sundae!" Matt said defensively, snatching away his bowl in fake horror. Rebekah giggled.

"Might I be able to trade some cookies and cream with Reese's pieces for another taste?" she said with a smile, offering up her bowl.

"Well... you've got me there... I'm a sucker for Oreos and peanut butter..." he smirked, offering her is bowl as he took a spoonful from hers.

"God, me too... The only time I've ever appreciated my brother Kol's womanizing was when he charmed the Oreos off some exchange student from the US in uni... She'd get care packages from home and Kol'd charm them from her before she could even offer them to her roommate!" The two laughed and shared stories from their lives as they enjoyed their ice cream creations.

Time flew by as they hung out and shared stories, and when Matt glanced down at his watch, he groaned.

"Aw man... it's 3 A.M... sorry to be a kill joy but I gotta go... I'm opening the Grille today and working the breakfast shift..."

"No no... I've kept you for far too long! Go! Sleep! Regain your energy!" Rebekah said, hopping off of her stool and shooing Matt towards the door.

"I mean I can help clean up if you like..." Matt started, glancing at the island that was covered in various ice cream tools and toppings.

"Oh no no no! I've got this, trust me, and you've already done enough for me tonight, I couldn't possibly ask you to play Cinderella, stuck here cleaning up after me..." Rebekah joked, and Matt laughed as he put on his jacket.

"So if I'm Cinderella, does that make you my Fairy Godmother?" he said with a grin and quirking his eyebrow.

"Matt, just a tip for you in the future: you will _never _get into a woman's good graces by discussing her age..."

"I said _godmother_, not _grandmother_..." he laughed and rolled his eyes and Rebekah laughed too.

"Good..." she laughed, opening the door for him and leaning against the edge of it.

"Well... this has been a great night, I had a really good time..." Matt said with a contented smile on his face.

"Me too..." Rebekah said, returning the smile. Before either one could think twice about it, Matt leaned in and kissed Rebekah's cheek, which she unconsciously returned and kissed his opposite cheek back. After Matt pulled away, Rebekah flushed a little, but took a deep breath.

"And you just had to break out the ice cream... I think I'm going to have to go up a notch in my belt..." Matt teased.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine... Aren't mens' metabolisms faster then womens'?"

"Oh yeah, I've heard that... well good for me then!"

"Shut up!" Rebekah laughed, punching Matt's shoulder softly.

"Well... good night then..." Matt said, leaning in again kissing Rebekah's cheek again, which Rebekah was more aware of and didn't respond as she did previously. Matt paused at her cheek, and as he was pulling away, let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay... I'm sorry, for kissing you twice... and then lingering on the second kiss!" Matt said, retreating out the door.

"No problem," Rebekah couldn't help but laugh at Matt's sweet candor. They waved to each other, Rebekah stifling a giggle as Matt tripped and adorably tried to catch himself and once Rebekah had closed the door, she pressed her back to it and sighed.

"Oh god..." she sighed, and dug down into her pocket and pulled out her phone and opened a new text.

_Bon, you'll never believe the night I just had..._

* * *

Klaus was the first to wake up after the nap he and Caroline took after they got back from lunch at the Savoy Grille. There had been more than one round of sex in between lunch and him waking up, but Klaus stopped keeping track after the third time. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 5 o'clock then looked over at Caroline, who was asleep on her stomach, her one arm draped across his abdomen and one leg entangled with his. Her hair was adorably mussed from their tumbles and he leaned over slightly to tuck a messy lock behind her ear that had been covering the side of her face.

As he watched her sleep, he thought back to the earlier events in the day that had led to him being in bed with Caroline... yet again. He seldom opened up to his family and closest friends, much less a woman he got intimately involved with, but Caroline was different: somehow, he was more himself around her than he was with anyone else... and he hadn't felt like he could just be himself in... years... He blinked to shake the sad memory away and leaned in to kiss Caroline's cheek, breathing in her sweet, unique scent as he did. Caroline stirred slightly at Klaus's kiss but only murmured, still deep in sleep, and rolled over away from Klaus, settling on her side. Klaus hesitated for a second but then inched over and curled up beside Caroline, wrapping his arm around her waist and spooning with her. In her sleep, Caroline moved her head back and nuzzled it up underneath Klaus's chin, which made him grin.

_Thank you, Caroline... Thank you for just being you, for being the breath of fresh air I needed to turn over a new leaf... You mean more to me than you could ever know... You've reminded me of not only the man I was, but the man I wanted to be... _he thought and pressed a kiss to the back of Caroline's head before drifting off to sleep again.

* * *

Caroline woke up two and a half hours later from the large growl of her stomach. As she got her bearings down, she remembered the last time she ate was almost five hours earlier.

_I ate with Klaus... and then we came back here and... _Caroline glanced down and realized she was naked and there was a hand gently holding onto her torso just over her belly button. She closed her eyes again, squeezing them tightly shut and cursed herself silently.

_Seriously?! Good job, Caroline, really good job... making a one night stand a long term thing... just to end it in a week and a half... _

Caroline turned her head to look at Klaus, and since her head had been tucked underneath his chin, Klaus adjusted in his sleep and brought his face down to her shoulder. Caroline bit her lip and chuckled at Klaus's stubble tickling her shoulder. She watched his face as he nuzzled her shoulder in his sleep, even placing a light kiss to it before settling back into a deep sleep.

She listened to his even breathing and thought back to how emotional he got at the Savoy Grille and found herself rubbing the back of Klaus's hand, still positioned on her abdomen, with her thumb. She felt a little bad that his honest divulgence at the restaurant was brought on by imbibing in a little too much alcohol, but then at the same time she couldn't help but feel like it was a bit cathartic for him in a way. Just as she began to ponder her afternoon with Klaus, Caroline's stomach gave another impressively loud rumble and she quickly scooted away from him, fearing that the loud noise would wake him.

Caroline tiptoed away from the bed, scooping up her robe on the way, figuring she'd just grab a snack to satiate her incorrigible stomach. After rummaging around the kitchen for a bit, she realized she had pretty much pigged out and ravaged her supplies the first night she got there and she'd eaten out every other time she needed food. Her stomach gave another obscenely loud rumble and she sighed exasperatedly. She glanced around and gathered up as many discarded items of clothing as she could and she trudged back up to the bedroom, but paused as she looked at Klaus. She smiled-he hadn't moved from the position she left him in, on his side as when they had been spooning when she woke up.

Without even hesitating, she dropped all of the clothes she'd gathered in her arms on the floor and picked up the nearest pillow and threw it at Klaus. It landed on his face and stayed put, but she heard him groggily wake up and watched the pillow stir.

"Wake up, Klaus, I'm starving!" Caroline announced unceremoniously, with a slight grin on her face.

Klaus murmured and grumbled, his words indecipherable, and moved to remove the pillow from the top of his head.

"I said I'm starving, and there's nothing here to eat, Klaus! It's dinner time, so get moving, you bump on a log!" she called, tossing him his jeans from the other side of the room and quickly slipping on a new bra and pair of panties.

"Have I entered a parallel universe? What have you done with the sweet and kind Caroline?" he muttered from underneath the pillow.

"Haha, very funny... now come on, you'll be getting hungry in a bit, I say we go into the village and go grocery shopping and get some stuff to cook and stay in tonight..."

"'We'? So am I to assume that means you're not tired of me yet?" he said with a sleepy smile, sitting up and moving to the other side of the bed to slip on his pants.

"Apparently not... every logical synapse in my head is telling me, 'What are you doing, Caroline? This is crazy...' but then my instincts just keep saying, 'You're having fun, keep having fun...' and you know what? I'm on vacation so I'll have as much fun as I very well please..." she said as she headed to the wardrobe and pulled out her favorite pair of comfy boyfriend jeans, a sweater and her studded loafers, and quickly slipped into her jeans.

"Well I guess I can't complain about being categorized as 'fun,' now can I?" Klaus replied with a chuckle, zipping up his jeans and crossing to Caroline. In one swift motion, he gently brushed back her hair away and planted a small kiss to the side of her neck. Caroline could still feel herself blushing, but she was glad that he never saw that, because after he kissed her neck, he kept walking and went to go retrieve his sweater from the pile which she had created when she dropped all the clothes onto the floor when she came back into the bedroom. She cleared her throat as she pulled the sweater on over her head.

"Well, I warn you, the repertoire of my cooking is basically limited to baking biscuits and apple pie, I never took to cooking very well..."

"That's alright, love... I'm sure I can fill in the gaps somewhere..." he said with a wink, as he pulled his sweater back on and sat on the bed to pull his boots on as well.

"Well, well... a foreign artist with an accent and a penchant for cooking... practically hit the lottery, didn't I?" Caroline teased, taking a seat in front of Rebekah's vanity mirror and taking out her dangly black earrings from that afternoon. She'd forgotten to take them out before falling asleep, and she replaced them with more comfortable pair of gold stud earrings that looked like buttons. She glanced down and saw her favorite necklace, a small gold round pendant with the rhinestone encrusted initial C on the front on a gold chain, which was a present from her father the first Christmas that he, his partner Stephen, Caroline and her mother spent together. That Christmas, Bill and Liz finally called a truce and let bygones be bygones for Caroline's sake, and the unconventional family spent the holidays together for the first time. Caroline smiled at the memory as she held the necklace in her hands.

Suddenly the necklace was out of her hands and she looked up in the mirror to see Klaus standing behind her, holding the necklace, ready to fasten it around her neck. Understanding what he was meaning to do, Caroline gathered her hair to the side silently and Klaus leaned down and brought the necklace around her head and fastened the clasp. Once the necklace was clasped, Caroline released her hair and settled her pendant down on her neck, and Klaus's hands lingered on the back of her neck and shoulders as he leaned down and whispered huskily.

"I'm the real lucky sod here, love..." Caroline felt his warm breath graze her ear, and she shivered like the first night they met and when she looked up at his reflection in the mirror, his was already boring into hers with his strong gaze. She could feel the heat start to build in her face again, so to end the moment and put an end to his unrelenting and passionate gaze, Caroline breathed a noise somewhere between a sigh and a scoff and cast her eyes down, busying herself braiding her hair quickly into a fish tail braid. Klaus watched her face for a moment more, then straightened.

"You mock my words... Yours may have been light, but I'm not the one who proposed dinner and a night in, love..."

Caroline looked back up at Klaus and saw his defensive shield up, but more importantly what it was there to shield: worry and insecurity. She could feel herself soften and looked up at him as apologetically as she could.

"Speaking of dinner... what did you have in mind to cook?"

* * *

"Seriously, I don't understand why we can't just buy the pre-made sauce!"

"Taking a short cut and using marinara from a jar when I can make you delicious, homemade marinara would be a crime against humanity..." Klaus insisted as he gently took the jar of tomato sauce out of Caroline's hand and placed it back on the shelf.

"God, Klaus, if you keep this up, the only thing I'll be able to help make is the garlic bread... and I'll probably find some way to screw that up too..." Caroline whined as she continued to trudge down the aisle.

Klaus merely chuckled, "Bloody hell, Caroline... can't you ever just let anyone take care of you? If it makes you feel any better, you can bake a pie, sweetheart..."

Caroline didn't acknowledge him other than grumbling inaudibly, and fiddling with something on the shelf beside her. Klaus grinned and suddenly stopped pushing the cart and grabbed the lapel of Caroline's coat and pulled her towards him. Caroline looked up at him just in time for his lips to come crashing down on hers suddenly. He'd caught her completely by surprise, but she quickly melted into the kiss and pressed her hands to his chest, her finger tips slipping underneath his scarf and coming into contact with his skin where his neck met his chest. Klaus merely kept a grip on his fistful of her coat. He pulled away and his kiss left her breathless. Caroline took a deep breath and opened her eyes and looked up at him with heavy lidded eyes.

"What was that for?"

"Because I could..." he replied with a smirk, his hand cradling her face gently and swiping his thumb across her kiss swollen lips. Their spontaneous moment interrupted by the loud and agitated sound of a throat clearing, and they looked over and realized they were blocking the way of a little old woman and her cart.

"Pardon..." Klaus smirked, moving their cart to the side for the woman to pass. The woman gave him a resounding 'harumph' and pushed past them quickly. The pair turned back to each other and couldn't help but bursting out laughing.

"Come on, I'm starving, let's just buy the damn groceries already!" Caroline rolled her eyes with a smile and grabbed the front of the cart and pulled it, steering towards the front for a register, Klaus following behind, still chuckling. Before they knew it, they were outside, arms full of groceries, and almost ankle deep in snow.

"Damn... I knew I should've worn my boots..." Caroline muttered, shivering in the cold. Klaus looked over at her, seeing her tremble from the cold, the snow collecting on the tops of her feet, which were exposed in her loafers.

"Here..." Klaus said suddenly, taking the bags out of her hands.

"What are you doing?" she said, staring at him questioningly.

"I'm going to carry you on my back... you can hold some of the bags once you're up..." he said plainly, as if it were obvious.

"You're kidding, right?" Caroline chuckled. Klaus didn't answer, he only gave her a knowing look, like she should know better.

"You're actually serious..." she said with disbelief. Klaus simply smiled and turned his back slightly towards her and squatted, steeling his legs to be ready to take on her weight.

"Take a chance, Caroline..." Klaus said with a smile. Caroline remembered those same words he had said that morning, convincing her to go to lunch. It felt like ages ago, but familiar at the same time and she rolled her eyes with a smile, glancing away for a moment but then turned to him and quirked her eyebrow, took a deep breath, and in two steps hoisted herself onto his back. He scooched her further up his back then raised his arms, and Caroline took a few of the bags and quickly wrapped her arms around Klaus's neck to keep from sliding off.

"Don't worry, it's okay, you're safe..." Klaus assured her. Caroline couldn't help but pause a moment at his declaration, but she eventually relaxed and once she did, Klaus started walking back to where they'd parked Rebekah's car a few blocks down. They attracted so much attention they began greeting people they passed, and they piled into the car with their groceries laughing.

Two hours later, Klaus and Caroline were curled up on the sofa under some blankets with some rigatoni and homemade marinara sauce and wine and getting ready to watch _The Notebook._

"Seriously, if you don't feel like watching a chick flick, we can watch something else..."

"Really, Caroline, I think I can stomach watching _The Notebook_ for the 47th time..."

"47 times?!"

"Yeah but who's counting? Really, you and Rebekah have a lot in common, she loves romantic movies and since I'm usually the brother that caves into her caprice, I've had my fair share of chick flick nights..."

"Well I think that's very sweet..." Caroline insisted, curling up closer to Klaus, "But I won't hold it against you if you want to watch a more manly movie..."

"Really, give me more credit, Caroline..." Klaus chuckled.

"Okay, how about a compromise? Part romance, part ass-kicking and part comedy..." Caroline said, reaching for her stack of DVDs on the coffee table, "_Zombieland_..." Klaus couldn't help but chuckle.

"Whatever you say, sweetheart... You're much more the movie buff than I am, love..."

"I mean, you make me sound so uncultured... I've been to art museums!" Caroline teased, popping the DVD into the player in the cabinet below the TV. "On our field trip to Washington, D.C. in high school, I went to the National Gallery of Art AND the American Art Museum at the Smithsonian..."

"Oooh, very impressive..." Klaus smiled as Caroline cuddled back up next to him on the couch. He tucked the blanket back in around her and added, "What about the Louvre? Or the Prado? Or the Metropolitan in New York?"

Caroline sighed as she picked her plate of rigatoni and her wine glass back up and settled next to him. She pushed her pasta around her plate for a bit before reluctantly saying, "Okay, I have a confession to make.. I've... never really been anywhere..." Klaus raised his eyebrows as he took a sip from his wine glass.

"I'll take you."

Caroline nearly choked on her pasta and she looked back up at him. When she saw his gentle smile instead of a cheeky grin, she knew he was serious, and not knowing how else to react, she quickly scoffed with a grin and rolled her eyes.

"Wherever you want." Klaus continued, trying to catch her gaze which she kept glued to her plate of pasta, "Rome... Paris... Tokyo?" he added finally, at least hoping to gain a reaction out of her. Caroline didn't disappoint him and she eventually couldn't help but look up at him and laugh.

"Wow..." she laughed, but she wanted to deflect the serious conversation, "...do all your one night stands get to jet set with you across the globe?"

"Well technically, you're not a one night stand, Caroline, if you're getting down to brass tacks, you're a two night stand..." he said cheekily, which she rewarded him with a light punch on the shoulder, and he persisted, "...and once you're in Europe, love, the world is your oyster... I'd gladly take a little excursion to the south of France with you or to Spain for a couple of days with you..." he gently brushed her hair away from her neck, "I'd be in very good company..." he added as he leaned down to plant gentle kisses on her neck just above the collar of her sweater.

Caroline unconsciously tilted her head to give him better access, feeling intoxicated by the wine, the delicious smell of the food, his low, husky accented voice, the feel of his stubble grazing her skin gently. She felt her breathing getting heavy and cleared her throat to snap herself out of this daze, and quickly took a sip of wine. Klaus paused his ministrations to glance up at Caroline, and seeing her flushed, her cheeks a rosy pink, and seeing her stare at the TV screen obviously trying to keep composure, he leaned back and sank into the sofa.

"All in good time, love... all in good time..." he smirked, taking a bite of his pasta, putting his fork down and drawing lazy circles on her back while he chewed. Feeling his fingertips skating across her back through her sweater made Caroline smile, remembering how it felt after the first time he did it they made love; turning her back into his canvas and marking it as he would. It relaxed her and she slowly sank back next to him, quietly chewing on her pasta as the movie started.

Caroline and Klaus had been watching _Zombieland_ for about an hour into the movie and into their second bottle of wine, even though Columbus and Wichita were still nursing their first.

"Now explain something to me," Klaus started, "how exactly does Mark Zuckerberg get Gwen Stacy? Even in a zombie apocalypse?"

"Because he's sweet!" Caroline squealed, pointing at the screen with some popcorn in her hand, which she promptly shoved into her mouth, and talked through the popcorn, "And I don't wanna blow the ending for you, but he proves himself and what girl can resist that?"

"Oh, so that's all it takes then, eh?" Klaus jabbed her side, making her jump and almost spill the bowl of popcorn, "the old 'knight-in-shining-armor' routine?"

"No!" Caroline laughed, "the old 'I-be-there-for-you-in-your-hour-of-need' routine..."

"Hmm... touché, love, touché..." he conceded, grabbing some popcorn from her and popping it in his mouth.

"Um, my first school dance, it was uh, Sadie Hawkins so... girls' choice..." Columbus muttered then took a swig from their shared bottle of wine on the TV.

"What nobody picked you?" Wichita asked honestly.

"It was girls' choice" he repeated, taking another swig.

"Those bitches!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"I know," he added, and Klaus and Caroline laughed.

"No, I will not stand for this..." Wichita huffed, rising up off of the chaise lounge she sat opposite Columbus, "you know what, on behalf of all the 8th grade girls, I would like to make it up to you..." she said, extending a hand. Columbus hesitated at her offer, and she added softly, "Relax, Scotty's old news..." He took her hand and the two started awkwardly slow dancing like they were in middle school on Rebekah's TV.

Klaus looked over at Caroline, who was staring at the screen with a glossed over expression and a slight smile playing on her lips. He immediately put down his wine glass and stood, extending a hand to her.

"Caroline?"

"Hmm?" Caroline said, still mesmerized by the TV, until she glanced over at Klaus, and seeing his outstretched hand raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?"

"You've been saying that an awful lot tonight, love..." Klaus murmured, "...but by now you'd think you'd know the answer already..."

Caroline sighed and finally threw back the blanket that had been tucked around her lap put her wine glass down. She knew he'd be stubborn until he got his way, so there was no point in arguing. She stood and Klaus gently let her around the coffee table so that they had more space and were actually closer to the TV, making it easier to hear the lulling melody of "Two Of The Lucky Ones" by The Droge & Summers Blend that Columbus and Wichita were slowly swaying to. He took her left hand in his right and placed her right on his left shoulder before placing his left on her right hip.

"This is so corny..." Caroline rolled her eyes, looking away from Klaus, slightly embarrassed and completely taken off guard with this spur of the moment romantic act. Klaus suddenly spun her around, pulling her closer to his body.

"You say corny, I say sensitive and romantic..." Klaus jested, making Caroline chuckle. They danced for a few minutes in silence before Klaus spoke again.

"You're quite the dancer..." he commented.

"Well... I've had training... I happen to be Miss Mystic Falls..." Caroline said in a tone that demanded recognition for this achievement.

"I know..." Klaus said softly as he brought his hand clasping her left hand to rest casually over his heart. Caroline looked back at him in amazement. He was gazing at her so warmly, and she suddenly remembered seeing that same warm gaze when she told him about her years in high school as head cheerleader, editor of the school news paper and producer of the school TV show and... her 4 year consecutive title as Miss Mystic Falls. Normally Caroline was used to babbling to people and never expected them to remember every little thing she told them. She had learned long ago not to expect that much from people being such a loquacious person. But seeing the look on his face, Caroline knew he remembered each and every detail she told him that afternoon at lunch.

Caroline smiled back at him softly before leaning in and laying her head on his chest, her right hand folding up to rest on his chest below her head. They swayed for a few moments, Caroline resting her head on his chest with her eyes closed and Klaus resting his cheek on the top of her head. She suddenly felt him lifting her left hand off his chest and she opened her eyes to see him lifting it up to his face and placing a soft kiss to the inside of her wrist. When she gasped, he gently opened up her hand with his fingers and kissed the palm of her hand. Caroline, breathing heavily and eyes fluttering, placed the palm he kissed to his cheek, rubbing her thumb back and forth over the light stubble on his face before reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss him. It started out slow and easy but became more and more passionate, each with their hands all over the other, not able to get enough. When Klaus's hands ran down the back of her thighs, Caroline knew what he wanted and wrapped her legs around his waist as he took hold of her, never breaking away from her lips. She felt him start to move, hearing that they were walking away from the TV, she guessed where he was headed.

"You're going to miss the ending..." she gasped, breaking away from his mouth for a split second.

"Don't care..." Klaus muttered before Caroline had even finished, expertly and swiftly carrying her up the stairs to the bedroom. Once they were in the room, it became a flurry of ripping their clothes and each others clothes off as quickly as they could. Caroline, clad only in her bra and panties, took the upper hand when she was finally able to, pushing Klaus back onto the bed and straddling him. She kissed him fiercely until she began trailing kisses from his mouth down his chin and neck and across his chest, her hands everywhere her lips couldn't be. All Klaus could manage was groaning and moaning her name, but when her kisses kept on their descent down his body, he knew where she was going.

"Caroline, I..." he started, but suddenly a finger was pressed against his lips.

"Klaus... I want to... please... let me please you the way you please me..." Caroline said softly yet decidedly. Klaus gazed at this beautiful blonde angel before him with tousled hair kept messily in a braid, lips swollen, nay branded by his own, and heady, passion-filled eyes that no doubt mirrored his own. He hesitated before nodding slightly and submitting to her will, and she continued her journey, kissing down his chest, down each and every chiseled and defined abdominal muscle.

She reached the band of his boxers and slowly divested him of them before taking in all of his manhood. Caroline dragged her fingernails lightly up the insides of his thighs, eliciting a quick intake of breath from Klaus, before she confidently took hold of his shaft, going right in and taking the tip in her mouth. Klaus groaned and his head fell back against the bed and Caroline twisted her hand around the base of his shaft whilst she swirled her tongue around his head. She suddenly took more into her mouth and just as he was surprised at how much she was able to take when they first made love, he was surprised again. She took all of him, then slowly let him trail out of her mouth, her tongue languidly curving around the bottom of his penis and she released him with a pop, pumping her hand still along his shaft.

"Fuck, Caroline..." Klaus gasped, his head still resting on the bed, eyes closed.

Caroline just smiled proudly, "The funs only just getting started, hon..." She went back to work, taking all of him in her mouth, her head alternating between bobbing quickly and slowly taking it all in then letting it all go almost completely before taking it all in again, fondling his boys at the same time with her hand. Klaus couldn't help cradle her head as it went to town on his member, and hearing his moans and feeling him buck his hips to meet her mouth turned Caroline on beyond belief. She took her free hand and started touching herself, imagining that big hard cock she had teasing her entrance, and she soon began to moan just thinking about it. Klaus opened his eyes quickly hearing her moans and leaned up, resting on his elbows and the image of her pleasuring herself while her mouth was hot and wet and warm around his cock was just too much.

"Love I won't last if you keep that up..." he said, gently stopping her hand holding her face with both of his hands. Caroline looked up at him and seeing how he was nearly sated but still wanted her made her smiled. She ran her hand up and down his shaft to make him nice and lubricated before bringing herself up and impaling herself on him. The moan had scarcely left her throat before Klaus had spun her over, laying on top of her while she was on her back seemingly seated against him, with her legs laying against his chest and her feet dangling over his shoulders.

"Ohh, Klaus... mmm... I can feel you so deep..." she murmured, wiggling against him, and Klaus started driving into her steadily, their moans and sighs mingling in the air.

"Deeper, Klaus, mmm I want you so deep..." Caroline murmured, so Klaus took hold of her legs and folded them, bringing her knees up to her chest with her feet planted against his chest. They both moaned, bringing her legs up had made her tighter around his cock and let him go even deeper than he already had gone.

"Oh, yes... yesss... oh!" Caroline called out, and Klaus brought his hand down between them and found her little sensitive nub at the juncture at her thighs.

"Yes love... oh... yes... Caroline, cum for me darling... cum all over me..." Klaus ordered, still pounding into her relentlessly. Caroline quickly came undone and hearing his name on her lips and she tightened around him sent him spiraling over the edge, as he drove into her thrust by final thrust, groaning her name. He withdrew from her and laid beside her on his back.

"That was incredible... you are incredible..." Klaus gasped. Caroline nodded, her chest heaving with breaths like Klaus's.

"Yes... it was..." Klaus looked over at her, facing him and smiling but shivering slightly.

"Cold, love? Here, hang on a tick..." he said, swaddling her haphazardly in the comforter and hopping off the bed, still naked himself and kneeling down by the fireplace and placing logs in to start a fire.

"Well aren't you prompt?" Caroline giggled, curling up against the pillows and headboard, clutching the comforter to her breast.

"I'm nothing if not thorough..." Klaus said, looking over his shoulder at her with a smirk, and once he had stoked a decent and sustaining fire, came back to the bed, curling up underneath the comforter and taking her in his arms.

"Funny how much I missed your warm body against mine, even though it was only for a minute to start the fire..." Caroline remarked, wrapping her arms around him.

"Oh I couldn't get back to you soon enough... I don't know how your ex let you out of his sight, much less out of his bed..." Klaus responded, burying his face in her neck, inhaling her scent and lavishing kisses to the area. Caroline purred and threaded her fingers in his hair.

"After two days with you, I now know what I was missing and why Tyler said I was bad in bed... to cover up how lame he was! I'd much rather have you worshipping at my alter..."

Klaus laughed a hearty laugh and gathered her up in his arms, "A temple I'd gladly worship for as long as you let me..." he growled softly kissed her fiercely.

"Yeah, well I may be able to see some of this stinking country if I weren't here with you... I'd like to see us go three hours without screwing our brains out..."

"Oh really? Well, challenge accepted, love. Tomorrow I'm going to take you to see all the sites, every tourist trap and every monument and landmark we can reach..." he said with a smile.

"Sounds like a plan, Stan..." Caroline responded happily, pecking his lips before settling down, resting her head on his chest. They both fell silent, watching the first sleepily, and Caroline was fading away when he suddenly spoke.

"And maybe... just maybe I'll see how _Zombieland_ ends..." Klaus said, jokingly. They both laughed and fell asleep in each others warm embrace to the sound of a crackling fire.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope you loved reading it as much as I had writing it! Thank you so much for all your positive feedback and pleadings for a new chapter! I read them all and take them all to heart so please R&R! :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** Once again, thank you all so much for sticking with this story and for all your positive feedback. I've had a whirlwind semester so far, trying to finish my two majors, working two jobs, being the president of my theatre society, I just finished assistant directing a show and I'm in the middle of finals. But I really sincerely appreciate your loyalty and interest in this story, and like I said in my last Author's Note, I know where all of these plot lines are going, and I have no intention of abandoning it. It's all just a matter of getting it from my brain into written word... typed word... you get my meaning. Okay, so... enjoy this new chapter! **xo **_**a-little-blonde-distraction**_

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

"I can't believe you've worked so intimately with such famous people..." Rebekah said as she cut the pork dumpling on her plate with the side of her fork. The next day after her "date" with Matt, Alaric had called her and invited her to go to his favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch. She told him she had no idea how he'd known about her weakness for Chinese food.

"I've never thought of it so much as 'working with famous people' so much as 'helping someone portray history as accurately as possible'... We tend to get so wrapped up in how we think a person or event should be portrayed or how it's been portrayed before in the past..." Alaric started to explain after taking a sip from his tea cup, "...but they were all people and real occurrences... we have to make sure that we're being honest to the periods... That's why I find that new Sherlock Holmes series so fascinating..."

"The one with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman?! I know, I adore it! They actually did some shooting by my friend's flat in one episode!" Rebekah exclaimed with a smile.

"You don't say?" Alaric said with a cheeky grin, "I love what one of those creator guys said, that the novels were contemporary and modern to the period they were written, and we make them into relics if we keep them Victorian..."

"Exactly! We get the original story that the original readers got! God, I'm absolutely in love with the series... I'm going to die if they keep pushing back Series 3..."

"You're kidding... well that's a darn shame..." Alaric said, pouring himself more tea and refilling Rebekah's cup as well. She thanked him and as she sipped it, he gazed at her and suddenly spoke.

"You know what I don't get?"

"How Moffat and Gatiss can be so cruel to us even after Merlin's been canceled?" Rebekah joking asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

"What I don't get," Alaric continued with a smile, ignoring her funny answer, "is how a beautiful girl like you can spend her Christmas vacation in a stranger's home and, _on top of that_, spend her afternoon with an old geezer like me..."

Rebekah nearly choked on her sip of tea. "Oh, well... I..." she looked back at Alaric, whose gaze was boring into her empathetically but firmly.

"I... just... wanted to get away from people I see all the time..." Alaric gaze didn't falter, and Rebekah slowly crumbled under his gaze, surprised at how well this man knew her after such a short time.

"Okay, not people... just one... guy..." Rebekah's attempt to contain her feelings suddenly failed and she began to choke back sobs as best she could, "...an ex-boyfriend who... just got engaged and forgot to tell me..." She hated herself for making a scene and embarrassing not only herself but Alaric as well. Sure he didn't get out much, but he still had to live here. She tried her best to hold back the tears but she felt two escape her eyes.

"So he's a dick," Alaric said plainly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. And surprisingly it was, and it only took an outsider pointing it out to Rebekah to snap her out of it. She laughed.

"As a matter of fact, he is... a huge one..." she laughed in between deep breaths to calm herself down and wiping tears away with her napkin. "How did you know?"

"He let you go," Alaric said just as plainly, "this isn't a hard one to figure out." The elderly man leaned in closer to Rebekah, and she mirrored his actions.

"Bekah..." Alaric started, "in History, you have the biographies and memoirs... now you, I can tell, are a 'Memoirs-Girl'... but for some reason you're letting someone else do the writing and allowing your biography to be written without you..."

"You're right," Rebekah gasped, choking back tears at his speech, "you're supposed to be the writer of your own life for God's sake! Ric... I've been going to a therapist for nearly 10 years... and she's never explained anything that succinctly... That was incredible... harsh, but incredible... Thank you..." she said, smiling and reaching across the table to squeeze Alaric's. The old scholar just smiled back warmly at the lovely young woman who'd been so kind to a lonely old man just looking for company.

* * *

"Ugh, seriously, Klaus, you're going to make me loose my lunch..." Caroline groaned as they left one of the exhibits in the Tower of London. Klaus had been describing torture technics in detail to Caroline as they wandered through the dungeons and cells.

"I'll admit, probably not the best laid plan, a Tower tour post-luncheon..." Klaus smirked and shrugged.

"Ughhh last thing I want to do now is go do something like the London Eye... can we go somewhere a little less active? How about Madame Tussauds? Or Hampton Court Palace?"

"Well Madame Tussauds is still here, and then we could go to Hampton Court then be back to Surrey in time for dinner..."

"Sounds good..." Caroline sighed, "...let's get out of this freak show..." She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him out of the exit of the Tower, Klaus chuckling the whole way.

A few hours later, Klaus and Caroline were wandering around the grounds of the Hampton Courts Palace in East Molesey, arm in arm as a light dusting of snow started to fall.

"Well that hit the spot..." Caroline said happily as she tossed her cup, empty of the rich hot cocoa that had filled it until moment ago, into a nearby trash bin. She turned back to Klaus and watched as he nursed his.

"Did you not like yours?"

"No, no, it's delicious, I'm just not one much for hot chocolate..." he said, dunking his biscuit in the hot drink and taking a bite.

"But you like the cookie?"

"Biscuit, love..." he smiled.

"Fine... would you like my biscuit," Caroline over enunciated, "In exchange for the rest of your cocoa?" She dangled the cookie in front of him in the hopes of enticing him.

"Sounds good to me, sweetheart..." he grinned, leaning in to give her a short kiss, before exchanging his drink for her cookie. Caroline smiled, the taste of cocoa and cookies lingering on her lips from his kiss. The hooked arms again and chatted until they suddenly came to hedges.

"Oooh! Oh my god! This is.. this is it!" she squealed and jumped up and down, almost sloshing the rest of her cocoa out of the cup. Klaus gingerly took it out of her hand before she sloshed it all over herself.

"This is what, love?"

"The maze! It's the maze at Hampton Court! I always read about it, I can't believe this is it, that I'm actually here!"

"Where did you learn about this?" Klaus inquired with an amused expression, popping the last of the cookie in his mouth, washing it down with the last of the cocoa.

"I was really into historical fiction when I was younger... I was always fascinated with Elizabeth..." she said, still admiring the hedges.

"You don't say..." he said, smiling warmly watching her be fascinated with the maze.

"You know she was exiled here, for a short time, when she angered her father... she's lucky that's all she got, you know what I'm saying?" she said with a smirk and a quirk of her eyebrow.

"Read you loud and clear..." he said smiling. "So... how about it then?" Caroline turned to look at him and when she looked at him, he motioned towards the hedge with his head.

"Really?!" Caroline was shocked at first, but then a huge smile spread on her face. "Let's do it!"

Before they knew it, they were at the entrance of the maze. Klaus and Caroline walked through the start and Klaus immediately took charge.

"Alright, let's try this way..." he immediately chose a direction and moved towards it. He stopped dead in his tracks though when he realized Caroline wasn't behind him. He turned and saw Caroline walking in the opposite direction.

"Hey... hey! Where you going there, love?" he crossed back to her quickly.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing..." she said assuredly, as she continued on her path, her left gloved hand hovering an inch away from the hedge wall.

"Oh do you? Well let's put that to the test!" he replied with a smirk. "First one to the exit wins..."

"You're on..." Caroline replied smirking, but continuing her patient path. Klaus took off in the other direction and confidently charged ahead, not letting dead ends discourage him. He passed Caroline once or twice, and she was still calmly tracing her left hand around the walls of the maze, even following through dead ends. Finally after 10 minutes of dead end after dead end, he stopped where he was, not knowing where he was, where Caroline was, or which way to go.

"Caroline?! Caroline!" Klaus started to call.

"Klaus?" he heard Caroline's voice in the distance but not too far off.

"Where are you?"

"Just follow the sound of my voice, you have to come to me..." she replied. He knew she must be keeping her hand to the wall and couldn't take it off.

"You've been quite patient, keeping up with that technique haven't you, love?" he said, walking in the direction of her voice.

"Well you know what they say..." she said, her voice getting closer, "'slow and steady wins the...'" Klaus rounded the corner and walked straight into her.

"'...race,'" she finished with a smile, pecking his lips, and continuing forward and keeping her hand to the wall.

"That's a very interesting trick..." he commented, falling in step behind her.

"I learned about it during a segment one of the morning shows did on puzzles and I've never forgotten it... you know, since I was obsessed with Elizabeth the I when I was younger..." she said, glancing over her shoulder to smile at him.

"But we're going in exactly the same direction I came from, it's nothing but a bunch of dead ends..." Klaus said, a slight tone of a whine in his voice.

"Just trust me..." she said, pausing and holding out her free right hand to him. Klaus looked at her and her open hand and took her gloved hand in his and patiently followed behind Caroline as they walked the maze, tracing around the dead ends until they quickly saw the finish in sight.

"Incredible... we made it..." he said, gaping still disbelieving that Caroline's method actually worked.

"Together..." Caroline added with a smile, squeezing his hand. Klaus threaded his fingers in between hers and leaned over and kissed her cheek. The two walked hand in hand until they came to the revolving door that lead out of the maze, and Klaus let Caroline go through first.

"So how does hot cocoa, biscuits, and the rest of _Zombieland_ sound..." she said, turning back to him with a smile.

"Sounds perfect..." Klaus smiled, pulling her close, his hands resting at her waist. "But if you jump me before it's over, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to resist..."

"Well then, I'll just have to get this in now..." Caroline said, raising up a bit on her tip toes to press her lips to his. She pulled on the lapel of his coat with one hand to pull him closer, and pulled his face closer with her other hand at the back of his neck. Klaus gladly submitted to her passionate kiss, tightening his hold on her waist, only sad that he couldn't feel more of her through his coat and hers. They suddenly heard a throat clear and broke away from each other and saw that the noise had come from one of the Palace attendants that had let them in the maze.

"So sorry, but we're going to be closing up shop in a bit... special holiday hours..." he said sheepishly.

"That's fine! We'll get out of your hair... thank you so much for letting us in the maze! Happy Holidays!" Caroline said cheerfully, taking Klaus's hand and walking to the exit.

"Happy Holidays!" the attendant said with a smile, "Have a night night, you two..."

"Thanks, mate..." Klaus said back with a nod and a smile, squeezing Caroline's hand as they left the Palace grounds.

* * *

Matt rang the doorbell to Caroline's house, excited to see Bekah, and was surprised when she opened the door and a cacophony of sound accompanied her.

"Hi!" she said briskly, sounding out of breath with a smile on her face. That with the combination of her rosy cheeks looked to Matt like she had just been laughing a lot.

"Hello..." he answered with a smile, but glanced over her shoulder at where the sound was coming from, "I'm sorry, do you have company?"

"Yeah, well I'm having a little Hanukah thing..." she said still smiling from ear to ear.

"What, did you join a synagogue since I last saw you?" Matt joked.

"Ahahaa, no... Ric, Caroline's next door neighbor, wanted me to make some new friends, so he invited some people over and before I knew it, it had become a Hanukah thing... he says he's much more of a Jew in culture rather than in religious practice, but I wouldn't know the difference..."

"Oh..." Matt said, then realized, "Wait, Ric? Caroline's next door neighbor Alaric Saltzman, the historian? He's a legend! He taught at the high school for a few years, until he retired early to write his books and consult on movies and TV shows..."

"Yeah, he's great! Would you like to join us?" Rebekah said opening the door wider for Matt to enter.

"Yeah..." Matt said slowly, stepping in, "...I can spin the dreidel..." Rebekah kept smiling, so glad that Matt turned up.

"Oh, before I forget and end up stealing your mail and committing a federal crime, this is for you..." he said, handing Rebekah a FedEx parcel. "From a little town called, 'London, England'..."

"Oh!" Rebekah had totally forgot that she'd given Damon Caroline's address for him to send her his pages. She wasn't about to try and figure out how to use Caroline's fax machines, so she'd told him just to mail them to her.

"My... friend is writing a book..." Rebekah tried to explain without giving Matt her and Damon's sordid history together, "...and sometimes I give him..." she pulled the pages and saw a notecard from Damon's personalized stationary paper-clipped to the top page of the stack of papers he'd mailed her. Of course it had nothing on it. Without a handwritten note on it, she knew he'd probably had his assistant mail it to her.

_Whatever_, Rebekah thought dismissively. "...notes," she finished and tossed the contents and envelope onto a small table by the front door. Matt watched her the whole time, reading her face, then returned the smile when she looked away from the pages and gave him another big smile and said, "Come on! I'm sure the food's getting cold and the wine's getting warm!" and led him to the kitchen.

In a matter of minutes, Matt was welcomed into the group of older men at Caroline's dining room table, gathered around a lit menorah, potato latkes, brisket, matzo ball soup and glasses of kosher wine.

"Oh, I think I've had a bit too much of the Manischewitz... you're going to have to cut me off..." Matt joked, taking a sip from his wine glass. The men and Caroline laughed.

"This is one of the best Hanukah's I've ever had... not that I've had many, but..." Matt laughed but said sincerely.

"Ready to convert there, Donovan?" Pascal, one of Alaric's friends, joked. The group laughed.

"No, not yet... give it another hour and I may be singing a different tune," Matt joked as Rebekah refreshed his wine glass. "I just refuse to believe that you were not a ladies' man there, Alaric..."

"Please, Matt, you're among friends... call me Ric..." Alaric said warmly, "...and I never was a ladies' man! I married very young..."

"That's just because he had the most wonderful girl! He had to settle down to get her off the market!" Joshua, another friend of Alaric's laughed, then added sincerely, "Oh, everyone loved Isobel... she had the greatest laugh..."

"What did he say? 'She had the greatest ass?!'" Alaric asked Rebekah, sending the whole table into fits of laughter again.

"'Greatest laugh!'" Rebekah clarified for him with a laugh, and Alaric smiled, "Oh..."

"Although her ass wasn't bad either!" David, Alaric's friend, responded, making everyone laugh uproariously again.

"She had real chutzpah..." Alaric said with a wistful but proud smile, "She was the woman behind the 'great man'" he referred to himself, "making sure the books became reality..." Rebekah smiled warmly at her new mature friend, whom she could still see was deeply in love with the woman even though she was no longer present.

"What about you, Matt," Joshua piped up, hoping to continue the conversation, "You're a catch, so you've got the ladies lining up, I presume..."

"Oh no, guys," Matt said abashedly, "I just a one woman at a time kind of guy..." The men smiled and murmured, furtively stealing glances at Rebekah, who was smiling but pushing food around her plate, her and Alaric the only ones knowing that she wasn't Matt's woman.

"Actually I've been dating a beautiful, talented restauranteur, and let me tell you I have no idea what she sees in me or what I have to offer, but I'm seriously the luckiest guy in the world..." Matt said, thinking of Jules and smiling.

"A restauranteur? Does she own a restaurant here in town or somewhere else?"

"Well not right now, actually she's going to be opening up a new restaurant in Richmond next year in the Spring..." Matt said.

"Well where is she tonight?" David asked with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Look at him, he's got one foot in the grave and he's still on the prowl..." Alaric said with fake exasperation. The group laughed and David quickly clarified.

"Well I'm just asking since he's here," he said, gesturing to Matt, "then where is she?!"

"Well, you know she's got a lot of prep to do on location so she's been staying with friends in Richmond..." Matt started to explain how Jules was preparing the restaurant and couldn't make it down a lot, but sometimes he got to see her. Alaric half listened and stole a look at Rebekah, whom he could see clearly was captivated Matt even whilst he was talking about another woman, and smiled to himself then cut Matt off.

"Well her loss is our gain..." he said smiling at Matt who smiled back and raised his glass at the elderly scholar.

"Thank you very much, Ric..." he said with a nod, making sure to use his nickname as he was instructed. Alaric nodded back to him with a smile. Rebekah looked between the two and couldn't help smiling like a fool. She'd become so close to both while she was here and she was so glad they got along. Alaric looked back and forth between them then said to his friends.

"Well, gents? I think we should leave these young whippersnappers and get back to our bedpans and coffins..." he joked and the whole group laughed and began to pack it in.

"Pascal, so you're calling me about playing pool?" Matt said, standing up from the table and extending his hand to Alaric's friend to his left.

"I've got your cell, I'll be in touch..." he responded smiling, shaking Matt's hand and the two half hugged and clapped each other on the shoulder. Alaric and his friends left, leaving Matt to help Rebekah clean up and soon Rebekah was walking Matt to the door.

"This was such a great night, Beks," Matt said as Rebekah handed him the last of the brisket, wrapped up in Saran wrap, both leaving the kitchen. "You know Alaric is one of the last great historians from that generation to write about the Civil War and Virginian history..."

"I know!" Rebekah exclaimed excitedly, "the reason he was helping out with the _John Adams_ miniseries is because his friend David McCullough, who wrote the book on the series, was only able to come to a few of the shoots and asked him to fill in for him for the rest... He's so modest..."

"That's amazing..." Matt said, "...and you can tell the affect you've had on him, Beks..."

"What do you mean?" she asked, unaware of what he was talking about.

"Well," Matt started, "I mean, it's been no secret to anyone that Isobel's death rocked Ric's world... everyone pretty much knew that his only company after her death was whatever bottle was in reach... I'm not sure which of his friends came to check in on him one day, but they found him unconscious with shallow breathing... he almost drank himself to death..." Rebekah gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, "That's why he typically has a nurse taking care of him... his friends decided since he didn't have any family to be with him he needed someone to take care of him... Then you show up and he's suddenly... I don't know... more alive than he has been in a while... That's why I was so surprised when you said you were having a party with him... you've really awoken something in him, Beks..." he finished with a smile.

"Well..." Rebekah blushed and looked down, "then I guess we're even, because he's awoken something in me, and I'm very grateful to him..."

"Good... I'm glad..." Matt said, smiling warmly at the kind and lovely woman who'd suddenly come into their lives and affected them all so much in just a matter of days. "Well... I guess I'm off then..." he gave her a peck on the cheek and went to let himself out, but then turned to her with one hand on the door.

"Hey... Bonnie is going to the Christmas tree farm tomorrow to get her tree... would you like to come with us?" he asked, looking very hopeful.

"I'd love to..." she said with a smile.

"Great," Matt said, and leaned in and kissed her cheek again. Rebekah giggled, remembering how he'd been that friendly the last time they said goodbye and Matt groaned again.

"Ugh, okay, I know... I did it again... I swear I'm not normally this much of a lecher..." Matt said, rolling his eyes at himself and hurrying out the door.

"It's fine..." Rebekah laughed, as Matt practically sprinted to his car to avoid her seeing his red face.

"I'll text you tomorrow!" he called over his shoulder.

"Sounds good!" she called, smiling as she closed the door.

* * *

Caroline stretched, sleepily noticing her surroundings and realizing that she and Klaus had fallen asleep on the couch watching _Zombieland_ after getting back from a full day of sightseeing. It also dawned on her that they had not had sexual relations in any way shape or form, but instead of being proud of herself, her mind started racing and she bit her lip. _What does this mean? I mean am I a hook up now, or what is this? What are we doing here?! _the sensible part of Caroline's brain screamed at her. _Come on, you're on vacation, you said it yourself you're here to have fun and whether that involves straddling Klaus or cuddling with him, you're having fun, so what's the big deal? You're an adult! _Caroline's impulsive fun-seeking part of her brain told her. She groaned at herself and carefully got up and tiptoed up the stairs, hoping that a shower might clear her head and make her feel better.

Caroline had luckily mastered the shower her first day there, after the first time Klaus spent the night, and she stood under the modern shower head letting the hot water trickled down her head to her neck and shoulders and took a deep breath. Suddenly she heard the shower door open and her eyes snapped open and she squealed in surprise.

"Sorry, love, didn't mean to give you a fright..." Klaus said, half apologetically, half smiling.

"Klaus! What are you doing?" Caroline said, instinctively covering herself up as best as she could.

"Same as you," he said, glancing furtively at her naked, slippery form. Caroline blushed and tried not to look at his equally naked self, "just trying to shower..."

"Well you can wait, can't you?" Caroline snapped a little too harshly. She'd been so wrapped up in her thoughts, arguing with herself about how she should address Klaus and their... whatever they were doing that his presence didn't help her mood.

"Why... worried I might distract you, love?" Klaus grinned devilishly, moving closer to her like a predator stalking its prey.

"No... I just want to shower in peace," Caroline said, backing away from him then gasping when she felt her back make contact with the cool dewy tiled wall.

"Well what's the fun of getting clean if you can't get a little dirty first?" he said smirking, inching closer and closer, seeing how it unnerved her.

"Klaus... I'm serious, I..." Caroline started before Klaus's lips softly found her own and she was silenced. He broke away but his lips hovered less than an inch away waiting for her next move, and every logical thought or care left Caroline's brain and she quickly closed the gap, moaning as she invaded his mouth with her tongue. Klaus held her firmly to keep her from slipping and the water cascaded over their bodies. The combination of the cool tile wall at her back, Klaus's lips and hands on her, and the warm spray of water drove Caroline completely mad and she didn't even realize one of Klaus's hands had descended and suddenly parted her folds and began teasing her. She gasped and pressed her cheek to his shoulder, softly biting it as he slipped a finger into her, moaning her name as she moaned his. One turned into two, then three and Caroline's head finally fell back and rested against the tile as her orgasm washed over her body as the water did.

"I need you, now..." she demanded, and Klaus didn't hesitate to hoist her up and, pressing her back against the wall, enter her in one swift motion. Caroline gasped and clung to his back with one arm and the other reaching above and behind her, grabbing the washcloth rack that was just past her. They moved together and quickly Caroline orgasmed again, but Klaus didn't stop his motions, and Caroline began pushing to meet Klaus's thrusts with her grip on the towel rack and her foot which had left Klaus's backside and was using the opposite shower wall for leverage. She felt him so deep and she couldn't believe all the different sensations that she nearly lost it when his head dipped down and took a nipple into his mouth, lightly grazing it with his teeth then paying the same attention to the other breast. Her stomach tightened and she felt a third orgasm building and whimpered.

"Oh... don't stop... don't stop Klaus..." she cried, still pushing with her foot but both hands clinging to his back and her fingers digging in so hard she'd be surprised if she didn't draw blood, she heard Klaus gasp and heard her name fall from his lips and she came undone as he did, both clinging to the other and basking in the aftermath with their foreheads touching, letting themselves be showered in warm water. Klaus kissed her head and let herself dismount and they took turns lathering each other up and cleaned themselves. Through the suds and laughter, however, Klaus saw the smile on Caroline's face but not the reservation and worry in her eyes.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Whew! Okay so next chapter, done! I'm realizing it's almost impossible for me to not include some Klaroline smuttiness, which truth be told I'm only half disappointed in myself about... I just LOVE THEM and LOVE THEIR CHEMISTRY! I hope you liked the chapter, I tried not to make it a filler chapter, but I was inspired to write an upcoming scene earlier on when I first got this idea, so I think it'll either be included in the next chapter or the one right after that! I'll try to update soon, but I wanted to give you guys something to read while I'm in the middle of exams... MORE TO COME! Please R&R, your reviews (good, bad, constructive or fangirly) make me as happy as Klaroline scenes do!

**xo **_**a-little-blonde-distraction**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note****: **HELLO EVERYONE! I have noticed more and more followers of this story and I just want to say THANK YOU! And I'm sorry for the infrequent updates, it's been a crazy semester, but I'm going to try and write as much as I can over my Christmas break! Like I said, I have every intention of finishing this and I know where it's going! :D So... without further ado...

_****Also, I'm sorry I didn't realize until just now I had saved two different documents, but uploaded the one that didn't have the right ending, so THIS CHAPTER IS CORRECT NOW! :)**_

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"No, no... absolutely not..." Alaric huffed, hobbling up as best he could and walking with his walker away from Rebekah.

"Good lord, Ric, you act like I'm asking you to drink blood..." Rebekah half laughed and half whined, rolling her eyes at him.

"I'd rather do that! Go get a cup..." he ordered.

"Ric, seriously, the Virginia Historical Society is having this gala and they want you to be the keynote speaker! That's meant as an honor, not as a joke!'

"Who asked you to open up that letter anyway..." Ric pouted grumpily, trying to dodge the subject.

"I'm serious, Ric, with a little bit of exercise, I bet you could walk out there on your own, sans walker..." she said brightly and confidently. "And then I could go with you... as like," she jokingly wiggled her eyebrows, "your date..." in an attempt to entice him into changing his mind.

"I would be honored to have you as my date, Bekah sweetie... but I'm not going..." he said more softly, but firmly. Rebekah sighed and turned to toss the embossed historical society stationary back on the old scholar's desk until she heard him speak up suddenly.

"But if you were to foolishly spend your last week on vacation helping out an old geezer get into tip top form..." he started with a hypothetical tone in his voice, "...how would you go about that?"

Rebekah smiled widely at the old man, knowing that right now she had a nibble and it would only take her another ten minutes or so to catch this fish.

* * *

"I can't believe I agreed to this... this is humiliating, degrading and not to mention emasculating..." Klaus muttered.

"You're the one that suggested we go shopping..." Caroline said throwing a smile over her shoulder at the man lugging all her shopping bags in tow.

"I suggested that we walk around the city... you're the one that pouted until we started stopping in shops and wouldn't smile till we put one toe in Harrods..." Klaus corrected.

"Well, how could I come to the U.K. and be so close to London and not go to Harrods? Bonnie would kill me if I didn't..." Caroline said, dodging Klaus's comment on her moodiness. Ever since they got back from sightseeing last week, Caroline had been worried about how close they were getting. They had luckily spent a couple days apart, Klaus had work in the city and two days after sightseeing had called her and asked if she'd like to join him in the city for lunch, which she reluctantly agreed to.

Truth is, she had missed him just as much as he had (from what she could hear in his voice) but she was afraid if she let herself continuously be available, then her leaving at the end of the week would be like slowly and painfully peeling of the bandaid instead of just ripping it off nice and quick. Klaus's cell phone suddenly rang and he transferred bags between arms and juggled them to fish it out of his coat pocket, glanced at the name that appeared to be calling him and answered it.

"Hello Em, what is it?" he said, walking in step behind Caroline. He murmured and listened for a bit until he said, "...Well I'm kind of with someone right now, can't it wait?" He paused at a bench in front of the store they were currently in front of and Caroline stopped with him. "I've only been gone for... " Klaus placed a few of the bags on the bench to more easily glance at his watch, "...45 minutes, Em... I'll be back in tomorrow night at... Okay... okay! Alright! I'll be there in 10... you owe me one... okay... later..."

"Who was that?" Caroline asked.

"One of the junior staff members at _Art Monthly_, Emily... she just started working with us about 6 weeks ago, and she knows her stuff, she's just struggling a bit trying to learn the ropes and what the editors like, so she's having a 'crisis,' as she called it, with the layout of the article she's writing on a new exhibition and she wants me to help her with it..."

"Oh, well duty calls!" Caroline said, almost too happily, and she began scooping up her bags.

"Well don't rush off! I have the rest of the day off since I have to go report on a gallery opening in Cambridge tomorrow... we could just pop by my office then I'll be free after that... I just have to be home tonight to get ready to head out tomorrow morning..." Klaus added quickly, holding onto the last of Caroline's bags, "I mean, unless you're tired of me, that is..." He gave Caroline his best puppy dog eyes.

"I'm not tired of you..." Caroline rolled her eyes, "It's just that..." she started but she caught herself and Klaus gestured with his eyebrows that he wanted her to continue. Caroline shook her head to herself and put a smile on her face.

"Never mind... just me being a control freak..." she dismissed her earlier worry and crossed to link arms with him, "Lead the way to the office, captain!"

It only took a short while to get back to the office of _Art Monthly_, and an even shorter while for Klaus to be thrown back into the fray. They'd barely even gotten the door open when it was flung open a petite girl with wavy strawberry blonde hair and teal cats eye glasses.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!" the girl demanded unceremoniously yanking Klaus in the door and ushering him into the building with Caroline struggling to keep up.

"Relax, Emily, where's the fire?" Klaus said, attempting to slow and calm the young girl down.

"Under my arse, that's where!" the girl whined, finally taking a sharp turn and pushing him into an office to the right, which Caroline closely followed the pair. Klaus merely chuckled, placed Caroline's bags that he'd been holding down, shedding his coat and rolling up his sleeves and crossing to study the numerous papers scattered across the young girl's desk.

"Calm down, you're going to be fine... if you're like this now, I don't know how you're going to make it when the gallerias open in the Spring..." he muttered with a smirk.

"Spring?! SPRING?! I CAN'T THINK ABOUT THAT NOW! I CAN BARELY THINK ABOUT THIS NOW!"

"Okay, breathe, breathe... sit in that chair and don't move unless I tell you to..." Klaus finally ordered, pointing to the swiveling office chair that had been pushed in a corner as if Emily had been standing behind and pacing behind her desk.

"Fine..." Emily said in between deep breathing, crossing to the plush black chair and plopping down in it. She'd done about a minute of deep breathing before she looked up and actually noticed Caroline's presence.

"Who are you?" she inquired, pushing her cats eye frames further up her nose.

"Oh, I'm Caroline, nice to meet you..." Caroline answered, giving the girl a small smile and wave, making the girl smile in response.

"I'm Emily," the girl smiled, "Please take a seat, I'm sorry... I spend too much time in this building, for heaven's sakes in this room, and I forget how to act like a functioning human being..."

"Oh is that the excuse you're operating under?" Klaus muttered with a smirk, and Emily responded to his snide comment by chucking an eraser at him, hitting him in the middle of his back to the right of his spine.

"Ow..." Klaus fake cringed and whined, making Emily laugh and Caroline smile and roll her eyes. He continued to rearrange the papers on her desk and Emily turned back to Caroline who had made herself comfortable on the couch that Emily had pushed up against the front wall of her office just below the window.

"So are you just here visiting Klaus for the holidays?" the young Brit asked her, and Caroline responded quickly.

"Oh well no, I'm here on vacation, I switched homes with Klaus's sister, so that's how we met... he's just been good enough to show me around London and keep me company..."

Klaus glanced up from the desk and gave Caroline a saucy smirk which she glared at him as if chastising him and ordering him to not make a joke or comment; luckily for Caroline, Emily had leaned over to open her desk drawer to take out a bag of chips and missed the entire exchange of looks.

"Oh, well that's good news for you..." she sighed, pulling open the bag and grabbing a chip and popping it in her mouth, "Klaus is the best, I'd be lost if he weren't here helping me..."

"You're still lost even _with_ me helping..." Klaus muttered, not glancing up from the papers he was rearranging.

"Yes, well I'd be substantially more lost if it weren't for you... learn how to take a compliment, you lout!" she said, kicking a leg at him, which he dodged without even looking up from the papers. Caroline watched the two in amusement, noting how Klaus acted like a big brother and smiled knowing that was how he had to act with his other siblings.

"I swear, Klaus has been a godsend, I just graduated last year from the same uni Klaus did, and that's how I got my in here, we had a graphic design with Professor Canning, and she got me in touch with Klaus... that's why he's been keeping an eye on me, and I'm lucky! Most places I wouldn't have anyone in my corner right out the gate!"

Caroline nodded, listening to the young graduate babble on about their college and Klaus's help at the magazine when someone knocked at the door.

"Hey Madi," Klaus said, glancing up from his work at the desk and smiling at the tall and slender girl with a dark brown angular bob, an iPad in hand and a glittery purple scarf around her neck. "What's up?"

"Helping the D.I.D. again I see..." the girl grinned, skillfully dodging another eraser that came flying at her from Emily's corner.

"I hate it when you call me that..." Emily muttered, popping another chip in her mouth "Sorry, I forgot to ask you if you'd like a crisp..." she added, holding out the bag in Caroline's direction.

"Oh, no thanks... what does 'D.I.D.' mean, if you don't mind me asking?"

"'Damsel-in-distress'," Madi clarified, and she tucked the iPad under her arm. "Damsel-in-distress," she said, pointing to Emily, "...fire-breathing dragon..." she pointed to the papers Klaus was sifting through on the desk, "and the K.I.S.A..."

"'Knight-in-shining-armor'?" Caroline guessed.

"Spot on..." the girl smiled at Caroline then turned to the other girl, "I like her... where'd you lot find this one..."

"She's with Klaus..." Emily said, popping a couple chips in her mouth, but then realizing her error and trying to clarify with a mouthful of chips, "I mean not 'with Klaus' with Klaus" she managed with air quotes.

"Relax, Em... no need to choke on a crisp... I don't know the Heimlich maneuver, so I'm not saving you!"

"I know it..." Klaus said, not glancing up still.

"Shocker..." Madi deadpanned, making Caroline and Emily laugh.

"Alright, there..." Klaus said, placing the last paper in the arrangement and waving for Emily to come over and look at it.

The strawberry blonde stood quickly and crossed to desk, Caroline peered over from the couch.

"See you had all the right components, nice lines, good color palette, it just needed to flow more... that's what the boys upstairs like, is flow..." Klaus commented, gesturing to different things across the pages. "Otherwise I know the writings good... I know Madi checked it yesterday..."

"Indeed I did..." the brunette confirmed and Emily sighed, completely relieved.

"Thanks, Klaus... this looks great... I needed a second eye..." she said, highfiving him with a smile.

"You're instincts are always great, Em, you just have to stick behind them... see I saw your notations over here... that's what I used to compile the rest of it..." Klaus gestured, his hands sweeping across the pages. "You've just got to have more confidence and go with your gut instinct..."

"Preach it, Klaus..." Madi said from the doorframe, and Caroline chuckled.

"As for you, madam," he said, turning his attention away from Emily to Madi, "How's the new exhibition page on the website...?"

"I think it's good... it's a lot easier to update now that the format and the program has changed..." she said, flipping open her iPad and pulling up the website to show him.

"Excellent..." he smiled, "Now if you ladies don't need me for anything else, I should like to be on my way..." he crossed back to Caroline and gathering some of the bags back.

"You're a lifesaver, Klaus... thank you so much!" Emily thanked Klaus again. "And it was nice to meet you, Caroline! Enjoy the rest of your holiday!"

"Thanks, it was nice to meet you two.. have a nice day..." Caroline said, following Klaus out of the office. She turned over her shoulder to steal one last glance and saw that Madi had crossed to Emily and both were watching Klaus and Caroline leave and whispering.

"Oh you've done it now..." Caroline laughed to Klaus, who was hanging up his cell phone, "You're going to be the talk of the office today, bringing a mysterious blonde American in with you..."

"Well, I like to keep them guessing..." Klaus joked, as the left the elevator and he opened the door for Caroline then followed her out. A black town car was at the curb and upon seeing Klaus approach, the driver that had been waiting outside it opened the side door for them and Caroline turned to Klaus.

"Klaus?"

He simply shrugged, "Perks of working for a big name magazine..."

"Can't we just take a cab?"

"It'd be on the company dime anyway since I was here over time..."

"Well aren't you big and important?" Caroline smirked, quirking her eyebrow and clambering into the car.

"Yes... yes I am..." Klaus sighed, climbing in after her.

40 minutes later, the town car was pulling up to the gate of White Oak Cottage. "_Stupid chauffeur car... Klaus and this driver have no trouble pulling up closer..._" she thought irritably about her first day in the U.K. being driven by the chauffeured car.

"Well, this was a great afternoon..." Caroline said sincerely.

"It was a really great afternoon," Klaus agreed with a smile, taking hold of a few bags, but Caroline waved his hands away and quickly took as many bags as she could carry.

"Oh, you don't have to walk me in... it's freezing out, and..." Caroline started, but Klaus, studying her face, laughed and interrupted.

"You can just say you don't want me to come in, love..."

"No! No no no, it's not that, it's just that... I'm just tired and... I want to take a nap..." Caroline quickly added lamely. Klaus half laughed and half scoffed at her unconvincing response.

"Okay, I'll pretend to believe you..."

"It's not that!" Caroline insisted.

"Caroline, you're beautiful, but you're a terrible liar..." his voice was jovial but his expression was firm.

Caroline sighed, "_How do I say this to him..._"

"Klaus... I'm leaving at the end of the week, and that makes this complicated... and I'm not... I'm not sure I can handle complicated right now..."

"Right..." Klaus nodded with an understanding smile, but his eyes looked sad. Caroline gazed back at him, appreciating that he was respecting her wishes, even though it obviously killed him when she said that and that they wouldn't be spending the rest of his day off together. She couldn't help herself, and she put down the bags she was holding and reached over to hold his face and kiss him. It had surprised him at first, but he quickly kissed her back, hoping that if he poured his heart into it he'd change her mind, but she pulled away and he resigned himself to being content with that last little moment. She quickly leaned back in and pecked him on the lips and when she finally pulled away that they were a few inches apart, and looked up at him through her eyelashes, he chuckled.

"And that doesn't make things complicated?" he questioned, shaking his head at her and smirking.

"Sex makes everything complicated... even when you don't have it, the not having it makes things complicated..." Caroline rolled her eyes at herself.

"Which is why it's usually better to have it... some say..." he said with an evil grin, leaning in as if he were going to kiss her again. Caroline only giggled, and sighed, resting her forehead against his for a moment, then pulled back and leaned back against the car seat and gazed at him. Who was she kidding? She couldn't just break it off with Klaus all willy nilly, and she should've known better than that... Klaus gazed back at her for a moment then quickly looked away and cleared his throat.

"Well... I'm off to work in the morning, so I promise I won't be drunkenly banging on your door anytime soon..." he joked, but Caroline watched him and could still see him covering up his disappointment and she responded as if he had voiced his concern to her.

"We'll see each other, okay? We'll work something out..." she smiled.

"Good..." he said, looking at her with a genuine, close lipped smile.

"Good..." she said, mimicking his accent in the hopes of getting a full, toothy Klaus smile before she left. He didn't disappoint her, but only lasted a moment, and Caroline didn't want to drag it out for him anymore, so with one last sad smile, she turned with all her shopping bags and opened the car door and stepped out. Klaus pulled the door closed behind her and watched her walk up the pathway to the house. Halfway there, she turned back to the car, not seeing in the tinted windows but knowing he could see her, and made a face and wrapped her arms around her self and mouthed, "OMG it's freezing!" which made him laugh and as he watched her struggle to juggle the house keys and walk through Becca's doorway, his smile slipped away and sat thinking for a moment before he turned to the driver and nodded, cueing him to drive on.

* * *

It was nearly dinner time and Bekah was towel drying her hair from her pool aerobics with Alaric when the doorbell rang. She crossed to the door and called, "Coming!" She opened the door and saw Matt standing on the doorstep.

"Oh, hey! What's are you doing here?" Rebekah asked with a smile.

"I was in the neighborhood and wanted to know if you'd want to grab a coffee or something?"

"Well I just got done with Alaric in the pool, and I..." she started but when Matt raised his eyebrows suggestively at her, she paused and swatted at him, "Stop it! We were doing water aerobics... get your mind out of the gutter, you tosser..." Matt just laughed and dodged her attack.

"Fine fine... I'm sure it's a great workout..." he joked and Rebekah couldn't help but laugh, "Okay well the work out's not that great, but the company is..."

"I'd believe that," he nodded, "...so what were you saying?"

"Well I was going to say that I was going to the library to return the last book Alaric suggested and get the next one, but since you're being incorrigible..." she said, turning and crossing to the foyer, intending for him to follow her, which he did.

"Okay, okay, I promise not to be incorrigible..." he said, holding up his hands defensively, "...so can I come along?"

"Sure..." Rebekah said with a grin, wrapping her wet hair up into a bun and slipping on a coat.

A short car ride later, they were in the library. They had talked on the way over about how he was composing some motivational music for Alaric to be played when he walked up to the podium to speak at the Virginia Historical Society gala, and Rebekah was so happy to have his company. They began perusing the shelves and pointing out their favorite books to each other, having found the next book on Alaric's list for Rebekah.

"What about this one?" Rebekah asked, holding up the book cover for Matt to read.

"_Bossypants_ by Tina Fey? No, I actually haven't read that one, although I love her on SNL..."

"Yeah she's the best, I love her..." Rebekah added cheerfully reading the back of the book. "If you want something good to read right now, I suggest checking it out..."

"Don't have to ask me twice..." Matt said taking the book and turning it over to read the back cover and crossing to the check out desk. The both stopped at the counter and Matt looked up from the book to smile and greet the librarian, but his gaze continued past over the librarian's shoulder, seeing something in the distance that made his smile fade.

"What...?" Matt breathed distractedly, and Rebekah looked at him questioningly and followed his gaze, seeing a young woman with brown hair in a caramel leather jacket laughing, her arm linked with that of a tall, dark haired guy. Matt suddenly dropped the book on the counter and ran out of the library and chased after the couple. As the library door closed behind him, Rebekah heard him call, "Jules?!" and she gasped. "_Why is Matt's girlfriend here? She's supposed to be in Richmond getting her restaurant ready, isn't she?_"Rebekah thought, watching the sad scene unfold.

She watched them talk without knowing what they were saying, watching Jules gesture back and forth from Matt to the mystery guy, then between her and the mystery guy. Matt hung his head finally and Rebekah couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand, she knew what was happening. She knew she'd had the same look on her face when Damon told her about Elena and broke up with her. The couple eventually parted and Matt stood there wordless. Rebekah quickly checked out both books for them, went outside and let him back to the car, her hand rubbing his back comfortingly. She didn't ask any questions and drove them back to Caroline's house where he'd left his car.

Once they got back, they closed the doors to Caroline's car and stepped onto the driveway.

"Would you like to come in?" Rebekah asked gently, gesturing up at the house. Matt didn't say a word but simply followed her up to the house and followed her inside. He was still silent, and Rebekah knew he was still in shock from what he'd just learned and ushered him into the living room to a couch. She hurried to go get him a drink, not knowing if he'd need something hot like tea or strong like vodka, so she got both and brought them back to him. She placed them on the coffee table and sat next to him silently, waiting for him to speak, and he finally did.

"Why do I ALWAYS fall for the bad girl?!" he sighed.

"You didn't know she was a bad girl..." Rebekah said encouragingly, picking up the mug of tea and holding it out for him.

"I knew she wasn't good..." he muttered, then peered at the mug before glancing up at her. "Don't you have anything a little stronger?" Rebekah smiled sadly and handed him the small drinking glass with half full with vodka. "_Can't say I'm never prepared..._" she thought wryly to herself.

"Thank you..." he sighed, then added, "let me rephrase..." he took a sip then continued, "Why do I fall for someone I know isn't good?"

"I happen to know the answer to that," Rebekah interjected, "Because you're hoping you're wrong, and every time she does something that tells you she's no good, you ignore it; and every time she comes through and surprises you she wins you over, and you lose that argument with yourself that she's not for you..."

"Exactly..." Matt breathed, amazed at how Rebekah hit the nail on the head. Rebekah just scoffed and nodded understandingly, and he continued, "Then there's the old, 'I can't believe a girl like that would be with a guy like me...'"

"Oh, Matt..." Rebekah leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder and placed her hand over his and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. She couldn't fathom how Jules could do such a thing to such a great guy like Matt.

"And do you know what really sucks?!" he added, sounding more incredulous, "She said she's finished up everything at the restaurant she can complete this year, and has been staying with whatever his name is, her sous chef... that means she's been in town this whole time! Which means when I called her this morning and she said, 'Oh I'm looking out my window and it's raining...' she was in MYSTIC FALLS! What did she do? WeatherUnderground that shit?! Ughh..." he growled angrily at himself and took a big gulp of vodka, "Meanwhile, I'm the asshole mailing her Christmas present to Richmond... I actually waited on line at FedEx to make sure she'd get it on time... Figures..." Rebekah squeezed Matt's hand, feeling so bad for this sweet guy who'd been so kind and made her vacation so enjoyable.

"Ugh, listen, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the rest of your night... you don't have to listen to this..." Matt apologized, ready to get up and leave.

"No no, it's fine..." Rebekah assured him, "I like the company..." she added with smile. She watched Matt's face get sadder and sadder and wanted so much to turn it around.

"So how about some food?! Shall I fire up the George Foreman and grill us some steak kebobs?" she stood and picked up the untouched mug of tea and attempted to be perky.

"Sure..." Matt said, unenthusiastically, taking another sip from his glass of vodka. Rebekah studied him for a moment before just letting her thoughts burst out from behind her lips.

"Listen... I know it's hard to believe people when they say, 'I know how you feel'... but _I_ actually _do_ know how it feels..." she sighed, and slowly placed the mug back on the table and sank down on the couch next to Matt.

"You see... I was seeing someone back in London... we both work for the same online newspaper, and then I found out that he was seeing this other girl from the circulation department on the nineteenth floor... turns out he wasn't in love with me like I thought... I really did believe he loved me... he said that we'd be married, we even picked out a church..." she shook her head, "What I'm trying to say is I understand feeling as small and insignificant as humanly possible... And how it can actually ache in places you didn't know you had inside you. And it doesn't matter how many new haircuts you get, or gyms you join, or how many glasses of chardonnay you drink with your girlfriends... you still go to bed every night going over every detail and wonder what you did wrong or how you could have misunderstood..."

Rebekah took a breath as she felt tears start to well up in her eyes and the emotion weighed heavily on her words, "And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. And sometimes you can even convince yourself that he'll see the light and show up at your door. And after all that, however long all that may be, you'll go somewhere new and you'll meet people who make you feel worthwhile again. And little pieces of your soul will finally come back. And all that fuzzy stuff, those years of your life that you wasted, that will eventually begin to fade."

"Well fuck..." Matt gaped, thrusting the glass of vodka at Rebekah, "You need this more than I do!" He watched her silently and gratefully sip the vodka and continued, "That's what you're doing here? You're getting over someone?"

"Yeah... this is me in good shape..."

"Is this the guy that sent you pages from his novel?"

"Yep... he 'needs me'..."

"So he stays in touch... which is great for him but sucks for you..." Matt gazed at her, amazed and horrified at the same time. Rebekah let out a wry laugh.

"You see how great your life is compared to mine? 'The hopeless fool'... 'The girl that loved too easily'..." she said sadly.

"Okay, let's go!" Matt said, suddenly standing and sounding much more resolute, "We're going to fire up that grill, make us some kebobs, pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate being young and alive..." he held out his hand to her, "Are you with me, Beks?"

"Oh Matt..." Rebekah smiled, putting the vodka down on the table and taking his hand to stand and wrapping her arms around him, "You really are an incredibly decent guy..."

"I know..." Matt murmured, rubbing her back as she hugged him, "It's always been my problem..."

* * *

Caroline had been home for almost two hours and her guilty conscience was eating away at her. "_I'm not sure I can handle complicated?! Seriously, Caroline?! God, I can be such a jerk!_" she thought to herself as she soaked in Becca's bathtub. She'd hoped that it would make her feel better, but it didn't... The news reel started in her head and she couldn't drown it out: Tonight at 11, a bitter and cynical 26 year-old woman screws up any chance she has at finding true love... Sources say she was incapable of truly trusting anyone...

Caroline huffed and angrily sloshed out the bathtub, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself. "_Do something just to do it for once, Caroline... stop trying to think logically... just go see Klaus. You feel this way because you were with him today but you weren't really there... Just go and see him and you'll feel much better..._" she told herself as she towel dried and took her hair down from the bun she'd had it in to bathe and turned on her curling iron. She went to the armoire and unzipped her garment bag and smiled at its contents.

"_Ready or not, Klaus..._" she thought, "_here I come!_"

* * *

**Author's Note****: **Okay so here's Chapter 11... I hope you all enjoy it, I wrote it instead of writing a 5 page reflection paper and an 8 page research paper... I'll try to do Chapter 12 as quickly as possible but like I said, 5 and 8 page papers... Shout outs to _**100-coffees**_ (Emily) and _**confessorlove**_ (Madi) on tumblr who were helpful and let me know that Aunt Jenna was studying psychology in grad school (fact I needed for upcoming chapters!) so I named two characters after them! Sorry gals if your characters didn't look like you, I just made choices and went with them! :) If you're flailing with feels after last night's episode, feel free to message me here or on tumblr... I love discussing episodes with fellow fans... Til next time! **xo a-little-blonde-distraction**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! So logically I would've liked for this to be a Klaroline/Mabekah chapter, but seeing as how it became a 19 page Klaroline-palooza, I'll be doing Chapter 13 as a Mabekah/Rebekah chapter :) I was actually inspired to write this chapter really early on so I've just been saving it and I'm so glad you guys can read it now! Hope you enjoy it! Please R&R!

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

Caroline parked on the side road and glanced at the numbers over top of the garden gate door. _219 Alloy Banks Lane_, she thought, _just like it said in Rebekah's address book. _She hoped her showing up on his doorstep would seem romantic and not creepy or stalkerish.

She closed the car door and clicked the key fob to lock it, smoothed out her jacket, took a deep breath and approached the door. She realized it was the door to the garden wall that surrounded the house, and she opened it and timidly walked through, closing it behind her and walking up the pathway stones to the front door and paused. She held up her hand to knock, paused in hesitation but then quickly knocked before she could change her mind. She hastened to fix her hair and touch up her lipstick from around the corners of her mouth. She heard footsteps and righted herself as the door opened revealing Klaus.

"Surprise!" Caroline said, with the biggest, happiest smile she could muster.

"Yeah... this is... a surprise..." Klaus said hesitantly, but still smiling.

"Yeah, well... I was at home... well, at Rebekah's house, and I was thinking of you," Caroline started, Klaus smiling bigger at her admitting she was thinking of him, "and I realized... a little complication never hurt anyone, and I mean, this only has to be as complicated as we make it, and I wanted to apologize for this afternoon..." she continued, her speech slowly disintegrating from the eloquent and witty speech she'd rehearsed in her head a million times on the way over into Caroline-esque babbling word vomit.

"Oh no... it's alright..." Klaus said, cutting off her onslaught of words, shrugging her off and shaking his head.

"No, I mean it really isn't, it was so rude of me, I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm so sorry I did that... I seriously don't know why I didn't invite you in, honestly, it's not like I thought you were trying to-" Caroline paused, as she heard another noise come from inside Klaus's house, becoming the unmistakable indicator that someone, who was not Klaus, was inside making the noise. It caused Klaus to look back over his shoulder without opening the door anymore than it already was.

"Oh my god..." Caroline said, the realization slowly coming to her as she looked at Klaus's obvious discomfort and the way he stood in the doorway, essentially squishing himself between the door and the doorframe, "...you're... not alone, are you?" She quickly identified his obvious attempt to block her from seeing whomever it was inside; or perhaps to keep whomever from seeing her?

"No... I'm not..." Klaus finally admitted, looking embarrassed and apologetic. Caroline tried to recover the trenches and attempt to walk away with at least some dignity left. "I'm sorry, I-" he started.

"No! No no no! Don't be... I.. I.. I just thought I'd... oh my god..." Caroline muttered to herself, and Klaus loosened his grip on the door. He hadn't meant to make her feel bad, and normally he would've moved towards her to make sure she didn't feel embarrassed, but he dare not take his hand off the door.

"Caroline, I..."

"No, seriously, don't worry about it!" Caroline continued babbling, "This is just... me... being stupid, I-" She was stopped dead by the person who suddenly opened the door a bit wider and slipped in front of Klaus; but it wasn't the person she was suddenly expecting to come to the door. In fact, she was a much _smaller person_. Caroline tried to form words, or at least close her mouth which she knew must be hanging open at that moment, but she couldn't move a muscle or squeak out a syllable. Klaus wasn't breathing a word either, so the little girl, who only reached to the middle of his torso and was smiling at Caroline, decided to speak.

"Who is it, Daddy?" she said in a half whisper, looking up at Klaus. Caroline was pretty certain her heart stopped when she heard those four simple words, but the last was enough to rouse her from her stunned silence. Her eyes went from the little girl up to the man the child was claiming.

"Daddy?" Caroline breathed, her voice barely louder than a whisper either.

"Yes. I am 'Daddy'..." Klaus affirmed, faintly, not sure what else to say. Caroline let out a breath of surprise, looking back and forth between Klaus's daughter and the man in question.

"Caroline, this is my daughter Ettie... Ettie, this is my friend... Caroline..." he paused before saying Caroline's name again because he'd looked back up at her from looking at Ettie, and he was slightly distracted, trying to gauge Caroline's reaction. He studied her face and attempted to convey apologizing for springing this new revelation on her at the same time. Ettie simply gazed up at her father and then the woman before her that she saw him gazing at and smiled.

"How do you do?" Caroline blinked at Ettie, then flicked her gaze back up at Klaus with her classic "_seriously?_" face and Klaus gave her a tight close-lipped smile. Caroline released an exasperated breath and looked back at the little girl and turned on her camp counselor face and charm.

"I'm fine, thank you... Such wonderful manners... how are you doing?"

"Very well, thank you..." the articulate girl replied, smiling, "...would you like to come in?" Caroline chuckled at the tiny girl who was perhaps the most precocious child she'd ever met, but she and Klaus both started muttering polite refusals, when an even smaller person managed to squeeze herself on Klaus's other side, brandishing a floppy and faded pink doll.

"Hi!" the second little girl said, grinning largely at Caroline. Caroline knew in an instant Klaus's cheeky smile and knew what he was going to tell her before he'd even scooped up the little girl. She just looked up at Klaus, thinking, "_There's two of them?!_"

"Come here, you..." he said, scooping the tinier girl up and settling her on his hip. The girl wrapped her one arm around Klaus's shoulders and looked at him, then looked back at Caroline.

"Daddy, who is this?" she said, more forcefully and directly than the older girl, who was currently watching Caroline silently whilst leaning back against her father's legs.

"This is my friend, Caroline," he said softly to the young girl, leaning in and trying to grab her attention to break her staring at Caroline, which he knew was unintentionally harder than she intended. The little girl looked at her father and smiled sweetly, then turned that sweet smile back to Caroline after deciding that his expression confirmed she was indeed a friend.

"And, Caroline, this is my youngest... Nina..." he said, looking back at Caroline with a wary face. Caroline just nodded, clinging to her kid-friendly, camp counselor mask when she suddenly realized why Klaus was still staring at her; what he wanted her to realize.

"Oh! ...Ettie..." Caroline said, looking down towards the eldest daughter, "...and Nina..." she said her gaze ending on the small girl in Klaus's arms, before settling back on Klaus's face to visually let him know she finally made the connection. _They aren't women he's seeing... they're... his children... _Caroline just smiled, happy to learn the identities of the mysterious woman who had been contacting Klaus. Klaus smiled, relieved to see a smile on her face, but both of their moments of relief were interrupted by the little girl standing by Klaus when she cleared her throat. They both looked down at the Ettie, who was making big eyes at her father, until she finally spoke.

"Dad...!" she said, her eyes pointing into the house then flashing towards Caroline for a second then back inside before staring at her father again expectantly. Klaus caught the meaning of her look in an instant and his eyes snapped back to Caroline.

"Yes, sorry, of course! Please, come in!" he said, looking a little bashful, which Caroline realized his bashfulness probably came from his child silently chastising his rudeness. She immediately became self-conscious, especially knowing that his child wanted her to come inside. Ettie saw the look on Caroline's face and smiled at her.

"Come in!" the little girl said brightly, her younger sister following her example and began insisting Caroline come in their house as well. Caroline started to protest, but her curiosity got the better of her and so she stepped towards the door, which Ettie happily opened wider for her. Caroline stepped inside the foyer and waited there, not wanting to go any further, and glanced to her left and right quickly, attempting to see around corners. She didn't see anymore children scurry out nor did she hear anymore children, which was a relief. Then she realized that no grown women were appearing either. Would Klaus have let her in if his wife were there? Did he even have a wife? As Caroline stood there, silently asking herself all these questions, she heard Nina suddenly speak.

"Daddy, may we still have hot chocolate, please?" the little girl's adorably accented voice matched her father's—both girls' did—and Klaus murmured she could. "With baby marshmallows?" she double-checked, which Klaus also affirmed, stealing a glance at Caroline while he put Nina down since she was already frantically scampering out of his arms. Caroline was too busy looking around and taking in the house to see Klaus's face grimace and roll his eyes at himself when he turned to the door and closed it behind him.

Caroline looked around until her gaze settled on their Christmas tree, which they had conveniently tucked into a nook in the foyer, and she realized both girls were standing between her and the tree, studying her and smiling. She looked down at them and smiled. They were adorable, and she saw Klaus in both of them, but especially Ettie, who shared her father's dirty blonde curls. Caroline realized her theory had to be right; if Klaus's hair was any longer, it'd be much blonder, like his eldest daughter's hair. Nina had a few of Klaus's features, like his eyes and dimples, but her face looked different and she had smooth, pin straight dark brown hair—features she must have inherited from her mother; whoever she was. She started to unbutton the first few buttons of her coat, all of which were at the top, and Ettie took notice of her actions then looked back at her father and gave him the same expectant eyes that she'd given him seconds ago.

"Dad! Take her coat!" she said in the same light voice, which was somewhere between a whisper and raising her voice. Klaus looked at his daughter, then Caroline, and realized once again his daughter was being a better and more prompt host than he was being.

"Yes! May I take your coat?" he said, stepping up to Caroline. She glanced at the girls with a smile, then turned her back to them and face Klaus as she unbuttoned the last buttons and whispered urgently, "Are you married?! Tell me fast!" Klaus closed his eyes with a briefly pained expression on his face, then opened his eyes and searched Caroline's eyes as he said softly but firmly, "No, I'm not..." Caroline searched Klaus's eyes as well, for any sign of deceit, and content to see that there was none, she gave him a small smile to thank him for being honest and turned back towards the girls as she shrugged her coat off, revealing her outfit. She'd decided to wear her black Oscar de la Renta silk-taffeta dress with the ruffled-skirt that blended from the black body of the dress into white at the bottom. It had been completely covered by her coat, so she was really revealing it to the group, and the girls were in awe the moment her coat was open.

"Wow!" Nina responded, excitedly. Klaus and Caroline laughed, Klaus taking her coat and hanging it up in the coat closet for her and Caroline swung her arms nervously and laughed.

"Yeah... I'm a little bit over dressed..." she admitted to the girls clad in sweaters and jeans. When she'd dressed, she thought Klaus was the only one she was going to need to impress.

"You look like my Barbie!" Nina said, delighted.

Caroline laughed and Klaus laughed, embarrassed but happy that Caroline laughed and wasn't put off by children.

"Well she's got some sense of style, so thanks!" she said to the little girl with a big smile.

"Who is that bag for?" Ettie suddenly said, and Klaus and Caroline saw the young girl trying to peer down inside the bag without getting too close or touching it, obviously wondering what was in the bag and trying not to be rude or as blunt as her younger sister. Right on cue, Nina reacted to the bag as well.

"Is that for us!?" she said, excitedly, instantly crossing in front of her sister to grab the edge of the bag that was still on the floor where Caroline had set it to take her coat off.

"Uh..." Caroline was caught in an awkward position, more awkward than she'd already thought she was in, but decided a little white lie was better so she would pacify Nina rather than let her down, "...yes! Except, well, not wine... at least not right now... maybe in a couple of years..." she said, trying to make sense of handing a bag filled with gourmet foods and wine to a girl who looked no more than six or seven years old. Klaus smiled understandingly while Nina boldly dragged the bag over to their Christmas tree, where some presents had already been collecting, and she and Ettie rummaged through the bag, oohing and ahhing at the bag's contents. When the girls were further away and distracted, Klaus took the opportunity to move over towards Caroline and said in a low voice, "I apologize for not..." he gestured towards the girls quickly, "...mentioning earlier-"

"...that you're D-I-V-O-R-C-E-D?" Caroline said, cutting him off, and whispering, glancing back and forth between Klaus and the girls, not sure if they could even spell and understand what she was asking him. Klaus looked at Caroline's face sadly for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"...W-I-D-O-W-E-R..." he corrected then he added quietly, "About two years ago..." She studied his face and it took a second for Caroline to comprehend what he was saying. He wasn't a single dad by choice. The gravity of Klaus's situation suddenly hit Caroline and she couldn't help but gasp and cover her mouth as she looked over at the girls. Klaus hadn't just lost his wife, the girls had lost a mother, and she knew better than anyone that no one is better off without one of their parents. At Caroline's gasp, the girls looked up at them, and Klaus's demeanor immediately changed seeing that the girls were paying attention to them again.

"Caroline! I know you're a big fan of hot chocolate... are you interesting in staying for a bit? I just put the kettle one..." he said, gazing at her softly but strong eyes, urging the subject be changed and Caroline took the hint. She took a glance at the girls then looked Klaus square in the eye.

"As a matter of fact, I'd love to have some hot chocolate..." she replied, looking him square in the eye and giving him the most understanding and caring smile.

* * *

"There! Right there!" Nina squealed in between bouts of giggling, pointing at Caroline's upper lip. She and Ettie were in a fit of giggles sitting at their kitchen table enjoying the hot chocolate their father had made them; but they were enjoying Caroline's company just a bit more.

"Oh, you mean right here..." Caroline said, wiping her forehead with her napkin. She'd been at this pretending not to know that there was marshmallow foam on her upper lip for almost 3 minutes and she actually wondered how long she could drag it out.

"No NO! THERE!" Nina finally shrieked, practically standing on her chair and nearly knocking over her mug to point at Caroline's face. Caroline feigned exasperation.

"Seriously, Nina, you are making this up, there is nothing on my face at all!"

"Allow me..." Klaus said, walking past Caroline with his mug of hot chocolate, caressing Caroline's face gently as he brushed away the marshmallow with his thumb in a single movement. It lasted only a second, but Caroline felt her heart flutter, but covered up the intimate gesture quickly.

"Hey! I was saving that for later!" She needled Klaus with her eyes as he casually licked the marshmallow he'd swiped from her off his thumb, smirking his signature dimpled smirk, and took the seat next to her, opposite Ettie. She'd insisted Caroline sit in his normal seat, at the head of the table. He knew that meant she really liked Caroline since Ettie loved having predictable habits and routines. She was always a peculiarly unique child. He could hardly believe she was turning seven years old this Spring; she seemed like such an old soul even when she acted her age. He gazed at her a moment, taking in the happy expression painted on her face and he loved the way her eyes lit up when they were looking at Caroline. He looked back at Caroline and laughed, realizing she was still giving him eyes for pulling that stunt in front of the girls.

"Yeah well you're not the one that's going to have to scrub them down later when they're all sticky and disgusting... don't need you being a bad influence on the girls..." he said with a smirk, watching her over the top of his cup.

"I resent that insinuation that these girls are anything but perfect princesses, and princesses are neither sticky nor disgusting... isn't that right, Ettie?" Caroline said, casting her eyes over at the girl and reaching over and taking a cookie off the plate Klaus had put on the table while he was working on making the hot chocolate.

"Right..." the girl said with a nod, suddenly nibbling on her cookie daintily, which Nina saw and followed suit, even sticking up her pinkie while she did it. Klaus laughed and pinched Caroline lightly.

"See there it is, that's exactly what I mean..." he said, and Caroline yanked her arm away and swatted his hand.

"I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Mikaelson..." she said, sticking her tongue out at him, making the girls giggle. Nina took a small sip of her hot chocolate and but suddenly whimpered. The tiny girl suddenly hopped out of her chair and came around to Klaus's side of the table with her hot chocolate in tow.

"Hello!" the girl said brightly, setting her hot chocolate on the table in front of him and grabbing the table and his shirt, attempting to climb into his lap.

"Hello..." Klaus said in a rumbly silly voice, one that even Caroline couldn't help giggling at, and pulling Nina into his lap. Caroline gazed at him, taking in this new Klaus face that she didn't recognize. She'd seen how he looked at his friends, at his family, at her. Whenever he looked at her that specific way he always looked at her, she felt tingly from her head to her toes. The way he looked at his children was another tingly feeling, but more of a warm fuzzy than a tingly. The fact that it affected her so much shook her to her core, but she ignored the emotions and thoughts that were waring inside of her to enjoy these two sweet children she'd been lucky enough to meet.

"Blow on mine!" Nina commanded, but with a sugary sweet tone that Caroline was sure that even the world's most evil villain wouldn't be able to resist. Klaus smiled at his youngest daughter and reached to take her mug, but her hand slipped slightly as she went to give it to him, promptly splashing him with hot chocolate on his leg. Klaus cried out in surprise at the hot liquid suddenly on his leg, but it wasn't enough liquid or even hot enough to do any damage, except maybe ruin a fine pair of jeans. Caroline went to cover her mouth, half laughing and half out of surprise as well.

"Thanks for that..." Klaus grumbled lightly, wiping as much as he could off with his napkin, "...perfect timing, Nina, as always..." Nina, Caroline, and Ettie laughed, but the youngest only muttered a quick apology and then began begging.

"Dad! Do 'Mr. Napkin-Head'!"

"Oh...no..." he said, knowing exactly what she meant and glancing over at Caroline and quickly refusing his daughter.

"Please! Do it!" she begged.

"Yeah, please, Dad, do it! Do it!" Ettie joined in, and Klaus knew Nina'd make him do it so he'd have to give in eventually. He sighed in protest and groaned but smiled, "'Please!'" he quoted his daughters, "...alright fine! Quickly, and only because you said the magic word..." he said. He looked at his napkin which was riddled with brown stains from his daughter's mishap and laughed, "Caroline, might I use your napkin?"

"Oh! Yep..." she said, surprised but relinquishing her napkin happily. Klaus took his glasses out of his shirt pocket and handed them to Nina as he unfolded Caroline's napkin and whispered instructions to the little girl.

"Caroline! You're gonna love this... It's _so_ _funny_, I mean, you'll fall off your _chair_ it's so funny!" Ettie prepared Caroline, a wide grin on her face. Caroline turned from Ettie's smiley face and saw the napkin over Klaus's face, shaped slightly for a nose and mouth, his glasses keeping it in place and indicating where his eyes were.

"Hello," Klaus's muffled voice suddenly came out from behind the napkin and Caroline was dying.

"Hello, my name is 'Mr. Napkin-Head'!" he continued, and Caroline realized he was using a silly voice as well, but she still couldn't take it, it was too funny. Seeing Klaus willingly act like this was too much. It hurt to laugh. The girls were in stitches alongside Caroline.

"Now who's this?!" Mr. Napkin-Head-Klaus gestured in Caroline's general direction and she laughed, knowing he probably couldn't see anything through the napkin.

"Caroline!" Nina squealed.

"Who?!" he said.

"Ca-ro-line!" Nina enunciated loudly.

"Yes, but why does she talk in that funny accent?" he said, and Caroline was dying all over again. The man speaking in a muffled voice through a napkin was saying her accent was funny.

"Now smoke!" Ettie giggled, handing him a spoon, which he took purposefully the wrong end and put in his mouth, pretending it was a cigar until he suddenly started to cough and gag, and he fanned away the pretend smoke that had come from his fake cigar. Klaus used the fanning as his opportunity to take the napkin off, and in one swift motion he'd pulled his glasses and the napkin off his face while muttering, "Bleh! Smoking's really bad for you..." The girls laughed and clapped their hands, and Caroline joined in. Klaus looked over at Caroline and rolled his eyes at himself, which only made Caroline applaud louder and Klaus smiled at her.

"Caroline..." Ettie started, her focus back on their guest, "Guess what?! We have a tent we built in our play room, would you like to see it!?" Klaus looked over at her and started shaking his head.

"No, no... Caroline is not going to crawl into that tent of yours..."

"You don't like tents?" Nina's small pitiful voice suddenly came, and Klaus looked at his daughter and saw those same big, puppy dog eyes that he always got when she really wanted something and she knew to use her adorableness to her favor. He looked over at Caroline to see how she was reacting and he saw her conflict. Caroline looked down at her dress thinking, _I'm not exactly dressed for climbing around and stuff... _But as Caroline looked at Nina's blatant and unabashedly pleading face and Ettie's guarded by still obviously hopeful expression, she knew she couldn't let them down now.

"I love tents! Let's go!" She said, triumphantly hopping up from her chair. Nina and Ettie cheered, getting off of their perches and each took one of her hands and yanked her up the stairs as quickly as they could. Caroline laughed and threw a glance over her shoulder at Klaus, who was laughing, seeing Nina pulling Caroline so hard that she was practically running horizontally and bunching up the rug as she ran like a cartoon character. The girls brought her to a door decorated with signs that bore each of their names and various girly kinds of stickers, and they screeched for her to close her eyes, and Ettie turned the knob and pushed open the door. Caroline stood in the doorway and Nina and Ettie pushed past her, and she could hear them whispering loudly to each other telling the other what to do before they both shouted for her to open her eyes. When she did, her breath caught in her throat at what she saw. In all her childhood, Caroline had never built a fort tent this elaborate.

The fort was built out of blankets and furniture just like Caroline's were in her childhood, but this one was made using at least ten to fifteen blankets, all either flowery, lacy, or pink. The top was as tall as the room because a make-shift pulley system had been rigged using the hanging light on the ceiling, which was not turned on. On the contrary, at least a dozen small lamps were scattered the room, giving it a nice warm glow but still allowing some shadows around the room and the walls of the tent were decorated on the exterior with twinkling clear Christmas lights. The inside floor was comfortably arranged with pillows, stuffed animals, and even more blankets. Caroline smiled and let out a breath and finally spoke.

"Okay, this is seriously cool!" she said, sounding thoroughly impressed. The girls smiled up at her and Klaus chuckled.

"Come inside!" Nina giggled, practically launching herself into the tent. "Lie down!" she ordered. Caroline giggled and Ettie followed right behind her sister, but suddenly turned back to Caroline, who was stooping down ready to climb in.

"Here, Caroline... you can use my pillow..." the tiny girl said, smiling at her, holding out a big, full pillow. Caroline smiled back at her, feeling the nice quality of the pillow and knowing that she must treasure it, and was immediately touched that she'd share it with her.

"Thank you, sweetie..."

"Lie down!" Nina called again, much more loudly and direct.

"Okay!" Caroline laughed and moved the pillow to place it next to where Nina's head was and going to lie down.

"Excuse me, can you stop being so bossy?" Klaus suddenly said, his tone a warning and giving her a knowing look.

"Lie down, please..." Nina suddenly corrected herself, both sounding that sugary sweet again and making sure to use the magic word. Both Caroline and Klaus laughed as they moved the dozens of stuffed animals to make room for two grown people laying down in the fort. Ettie was on the one end, Klaus next to her, Caroline on his left and Nina to her left. Once they'd comfortably settled, Nina of course burped a perfectly timed burp, making the whole group giggle.

"Oh... very nice..." Klaus said, wanting to scold for being rude, but he could hardly stop laughing over top of Caroline's laugh.

"Not bad, I'd say about a 5.5 out of 10..." Caroline laughed, and Klaus couldn't help but crack up with Caroline. Once the laughs had just settled down to murmurs, Caroline spoke.

"This is a exceptionally great tent..." she said, loving the way the blankets were only opaque and allowed the little dots of light from the Christmas lights on the outside to be seen on the inside, the lights looking scattered stars in the sky all over the top of the tent.

"Yeah, I know right? It's got a special something..." Klaus said, turning his head to the left to look at her and Caroline turned to her right to look at him and nodded and winked at him, agreeing.

"It's cozy!" Ettie declared.

"Yes it is..." Caroline agreed, then let out an impressed gasp, and pointed above them to an assortment of stars made from scrapbook paper with quirky designs printed all over them. They were dangling from the top blanket with different colors of ribbon. "Now who cut all these beautiful stars?"

"We did!" Ettie said, as if the answer was obvious.

"The Three Musketeers!" Nina added, brandishing her hand high in triumph. Caroline felt her heart stop when she heard the words. She felt her body almost seize up, and she could barely form a coherent thought, it totally caught her off guard. She turned her head in the direction of the little girl, and she suddenly felt Klaus move his hand from resting on his stomach to lie down at his side and he brushed his knuckles up against hers.

Caroline felt knots form in her stomach, the same ones she felt during lunch when she told Klaus about her parents, and she turned her head to look at him, and she saw him watching her. His gaze was warm and compassionate, and seeing a man who'd lost his wife and was alone taking care of two young children assuring _her_ with _his_ gaze astonished Caroline. It made her heart constrict in her chest. She looked up and down his face and swallowed the lump that was suddenly in her throat, not knowing what to say or not knowing if there were words to say.

Klaus simply rubbed the back of his hand to the back of hers and Caroline bit her lip and turned her head back to gaze up at the stars again. The whole exchange was lost on the girls, which was obvious by Nina practically laying on top of Caroline when she turned to face her and spoke.

"Caroline?"

"Yes?" she replied, turning her head towards the little girl once more.

"You smell lovely!" Klaus and Caroline chuckled softly at the girl's sweet declaration.

"Do I?" Caroline murmured, loving the irony that Nina loved the same perfume that her father liked on her.

"I love perfume, but he won't let me wear it!" she said, pouting. The two adults laughed again and Klaus turned towards his youngest to catch her eye.

"Because you already smell _so_ _good_!" he assured her. He glanced at Caroline as he turned back to face forward and added, "So do you, by the way..." and he winked at her.

"Thanks..." she said, giving him a small smile, then turning back to the sweet faced, dark haired child. "But I'm older, so I guess I'm allowed to wear it..."

"Exactly," Klaus agreed, appreciating her backing him up and loving that she was as honest to his children as she was to him.

"I like your eyeshadow..." Nina said, moving on from the perfume battle instantly.

"Thank you..." Caroline murmured, gazing into the sweet girl's face.

"And your lipstick..." Klaus laughed and Ettie giggled, both sharing a moment, looking at each other and laughing at Nina's overexcitement at Caroline's makeup.

"Thank you... it's new..."

"What's it called?"

"I think Dior calls it 'Lucky'..."

"Okay! Dior Lucky it is then!" Nina repeated happily, touching her tiny finger to Caroline's lips, which Caroline also puckered for her, and getting just the tiniest bit of lipstick which she gladly rubbed on her lips.

"'Lucky'..." Ettie whispered to herself, and Klaus looked over at her and raised his eyebrows and she smiled at her father.

"Wow! It looks good on you!" Caroline said, cooing over Nina first by rubbing her cheek with her finger before attempting to tickle her neck with the same finger.

"Caroline!" Ettie called softly, trying to get Caroline's attention. Caroline turned her head to look at Ettie and the little girl turned on her left side and rested her head in her hand. "You know, if you wanted to sleep over, that would be all right with us, we could push our beds together!" Caroline shot a look over at Klaus and he had a smile on his face and had squeezed his eyes closed and shook his head, an attempt to not burst out laughing. If the girls only knew Caroline already had "sleep overs" with Klaus. She bit back a laugh, and cleared her throat.

"That's really so sweet of you, but... maybe another time... would that be alright?" she said, not wanting to disappoint the girl. Ettie blinked her eyes and smiled, "Yes..." before rolling back onto her back and looking up at the hanging stars again.

"Good girl..." Klaus murmured quietly, patting her leg and moving his thumb back and forth over it comfortingly, proud of his daughter's politeness but he knew she was hiding her disappointment that Caroline wasn't staying. _I am too, sweetheart, trust me... I am too..._ he thought. The foursome laid there silently for a few minutes just staring up at the top of the tent. Then, like always, Nina felt like breaking the silence.

"We never have grown ups over that are girls..." she commented, consciously ignoring Klaus and Caroline's presence and speaking directly to her sister.

"I know!" Ettie agreed, her voice sounding disappointed of that fact.

"I really like it..." Nina added, her adorable accent fleshing out her simple words.

"Me too..." Ettie sounded wistful, and Klaus looked over at his eldest and upon seeing the look on her face, silently took her hand and squeezed it gently. It was that same pensive, distant face she got when she was thinking about her mother. She remembered her more clearly than Nina did, she had been about to turn five years old but Nina had only been two or three; however, he knew they both felt the lack of female companionship and guidance and it was a burden he grappled with everyday.

He held his daughter's hand, still staring up, and rubbed his thumb along her hand and Caroline, who'd taken in the whole exchange between the girls, didn't miss Klaus' reaction. She watched him comfort her and stole a glance up at his face and couldn't help but feel like she was witnessing a private moment; even though neither looked at each other, Ettie and Klaus clung to each other and both had the same heavy-hearted expressions on their faces and in their eyes.

Caroline could empathize with their loss but she knew she'd never be with them the way they were with each other. They were like war buddies; they'd gone through the worst together and Caroline could never hold a candle to that, not even by a mile, and she accepted it. She'd been an only child without a normal family her whole life, so she realized why she was so affected by this beautiful but imperfect family.

She'd never known what it was like to be a part of a conventional nuclear family. Even though she always told herself that you can't miss what you've never had, she had not only clicked instantly with Klaus but she clicked with Ettie and Nina as well. The dynamic that the three of them had built together moved her deeply. She glanced around Klaus's face before looking at his and Ettie's clasped hands one more time before averting her eyes.

Klaus finally broke up the "little pow wow" in the tent, calling it just that, and told the girls to get in pajamas, brush their teeth, and say goodnight to Caroline. Nina shrugged off her quiet contemplation the moment she left the tent and chattered away the whole time, even while brushing her teeth, of all the fun things Caroline would have to do with them when she came back for a sleep over. Ettie was silent the whole time, showing a small smile here and there, until they finally had to say goodnight and goodbye to Caroline. Nina had taken a running jump and launched herself into Caroline's arms and Caroline caught her exceptionally well—considering she was in a dress—and Nina kissed her on the cheek and scampered into their bedroom. Caroline couldn't help but touch her cheek where Nina planted her kiss and turned to face Klaus. As she did, Ettie was suddenly there and latched onto Caroline's lower torso in a tight hug. It caught her off guard even more than Nina's kiss had, and Caroline rested her hands on Ettie's back and rubbed her back gently.

"'Bye, Ettie... it was great to meet you..."

"You too..." the girl's voice came out muffled, her face buried in Caroline's abdomen, and she suddenly felt her father's hands squeeze her shoulders.

"Come on..." he coaxed her to loosen her grip, but she nuzzled her face into Caroline's body more.

"Henrietta Claire Mikaelson..." he said firmly, but gently, and Ettie loosened her grip. Caroline looked over at Klaus, taking note of Ettie's full name, then turning back to face her.

"Thank you..." he said softly, and Ettie looked up at Caroline, who put her palm on the girl's cheek and rubbed it with her thumb.

"Sweet dreams, Ettie..." she said softly.

"Goodbye, Caroline..." the girl said with a smile, but with heartbreaking emotion in her eyes. The girl turned and trudged to the room she shared with her sister, Klaus kissed the top of her head as she passed by.

"Just gimme a sec, I'm going to tuck them in..." he said to Caroline, who nodded and shooed him with her hands.

"Go on, I wouldn't dare keep you from them..." she said with a smile. Klaus looked thoughtful for a second, and smiled back at Caroline and went into the girls' bedroom as Caroline turned and descended the stairs and decided to explore the house a bit.

She wandered around and came upon what she guessed was Klaus's studio. She admired the beautiful artwork and was nothing less than impressed that Klaus's artistic vision transcended a single medium and he worked with everything from clay to ink to charcoal to oils and watercolors.

There was a giant canvas in the middle of the room being held up by two easels resting on top of a drop cloth, and Caroline was awestruck. It was truly magnificent, filled with beautiful hues of blues and pinks and purples and it had such movement and vitality. From what Caroline remembered from the art class she took in college, it could only be described as a strange hybrid of Pollack and Monet; it was truly fascinating. Paints were still in cups below the canvas with various types of brushes, so she realized it must be a work in progress that he had not completed yet.

Caroline continued to wander around the studio, impressed by it's sheer size and stopped at a large table, big enough to seat probably twenty people, that was completely covered with papers and sketches and pencils and other drawing utensils. She didn't want to disturb too much, but she moved a paper here and there to see the whole drawing and smiled. _God, he is so talented... I can't believe he has to make a living with critiquing, he'd sell out in New York if he had an exhibition, _she thought. She poked around the table a bit more and suddenly saw a black leather portfolio amongst the papers. She looked over her shoulder, knowing that she shouldn't be nosy, but her curiosity got the better of her again, and she turned back and slowly opened the portfolio.

For the second time that night, Caroline felt her heart stop. She opened the portfolio completely and when it was lying flat on the table, her trembling hand reached out and gingerly picked up the paper that lied within on the top of the collection.

The sketches were stunning. They were so real, so lifelike. Every detail, every stroke of Klaus's pencil leapt off the page. Five beautiful faces graced the page: one lying on its side, eyes closed in a deep sleep; another with eyes closed, but from laughing; one was half covered by a hand, with the face scrunched from its an embarrassed expression; one looking away, with the lips in a flirty smile; and the last one looked straight out from the paper, with soft eyes and a small, sweet close-lipped smile. They were all snapshots of a woman drawn from Klaus's memory.

They were all of her.

Caroline suddenly heard footsteps approaching and quickly placed the paper back in the portfolio, slammed the folder shut and moved and put some of the papers and other sketches on top of the portfolio to hide it. She turned quickly just as Klaus rounded the corner and entered the studio, a big smile on his face.

"I can't believe anyone has been a bigger hit with my children..."

Caroline looked away for a minute, blushing, thinking about the Caroline she saw in Klaus's sketches, but then looked back up at him and smiled and chuckled. "They're really great, Klaus..."

Klaus smiled warmly at Caroline, "Ettie's a tough egg to crack... she's brilliant, but she's the strong silent type, usually... as you might have noticed..."

"Yeah, but she's so mature for her age... she really is..." Caroline commented, remembering how proper and indulgent she was. Klaus simply nodded in agreement.

"She looks so like you, it's uncanny..." Klaus blushed and looked down at the ground. "'Henrietta', is that after...?"

"Henrik? Yeah... yeah it is..." he said, softly nodding, appreciating that she'd remembered his brother's name from their first real date.

"And Nina? Is that a family name as well?"

"Yes... well, not in my family... my wife... Tatia... her family was Bulgarian, and it just sort of fit... she even looked like a Nina... she has so much more of Tatia in her than she does me..." Caroline nodded, agreeing.

"Oh Nina..." Klaus sighed, laughing and rolling his eyes. Caroline laughed at just the mention of the bold girl. "She's going to be a real ball-buster... which, I must admit, I kind of love about her..." he added. Caroline gazed at him for a while, figuring out how she wanted to confront him, but she finally just asked him plainly.

"I'm just trying to figure out why you didn't tell me about them... or..." she trailed off.

"Tatia?" he finished for her, and Caroline nodded. Klaus looked at the floor, nodding, then looked back up at her. "Because... I just don't usually tell women about them," he answered honestly.

"It's just..." Caroline started, "...It's just a little confusing, because you're the one who wanted to go to lunch to get to know each other and..." she said, crossing to sit on a stool over by the giant canvas.

"Oh... well, when you put it like that..." Klaus groaned, "...it sounds awful..." he said, crossing over to stand closer to her, and he crossed his arms in contemplation, then started again.

"I guess... my only defense is, until I really get to know someone... really well... It's easier for me to be this normal, single guy because it's far too complicated to be who I really am..." he admitted. Caroline looked at him sympathetically but he saw the reservation in her eyes, and he didn't know what it was, but the truth suddenly came flying out of him and he heard the words come from his mouth.

"I'm a full-time dad... I'm a working parent, I'm a mother _and _a father, I'm the guy who reads _parenting books_ and _cookbooks _before I go to sleep... I usually spend my weekends buying tutus or hair bows! I mean, I'm learning to sew! I'm 'Mr. Napkin-Head'!" his voice growing more incredulous as his speech went on, and Caroline finally laughed, and Klaus continued, "And I'm on some sort of... _constant overload_ and... it helps if I compartmentalize my life... Just until I figure out how to do this... _if_ I ever figure out how to do this..." Caroline nodded and listened, seeing on his face that there was still more he needed to say.

"This past week, the girls were with my brother Elijah and they were with him and his family for a whole week instead of just the weekend because my sister-in-law Katherine took them to visit her family for a bit... they have kids of their own, so the girls are happy to go spend time with them... and when they're gone..." Klaus looked down at the ground again, that same pained expression Caroline saw for a brief moment when she asked him if he was married in the foyer appeared, "...I get to be someone who doesn't have hot chocolate spilled on his jeans..." he added, looking up at Caroline with a look of desperation and vehemence.

Caroline nodded, and seeing her nod, Klaus confessed, "I have no idea how to date _and_ be this... and I suppose there's..." he paused and looked at Caroline's face sadly before looking away again and continuing, "the possibility I'm afraid of what another person might do to who we are... and how we get from one day to the next..." Caroline looked down at her hands in her lap, knowing exactly what he meant, especially after seeing how he comforted Ettie in the tent. The wounds were still fresh, and she didn't blame him. Tatia's death rocked their boat much more than her dad leaving rocked hers, and she knew it. She started nodding, and looked up and when she saw Klaus's apologetic face, she nodded more and smiled.

"Yeah... I guess since I am leaving in a couple days, I... I get you not telling me... sort of..." she said with a small smile.

"I didn't think it'd be fair..." he took a breath, and forced out, "...to introduce them to someone... someone we may never see again..." The words sounded strained and they were scary to hear, especially after the wonderful time she had with all three of them, and Caroline couldn't help but wince at the mention of her leaving them behind. It had been such an enlightening time when she learned more about herself and was never happier that she'd split with Tyler, but she couldn't help but wonder what the point of all of this—her connecting with Klaus, and connecting with the girls, all of them—was for if she wasn't able to stay. Her holiday fling had turned into much much more, and now she was feeling the repercussions of it. What had Klaus called it? "Compartmentalizing."

That's what she'd do to deal with this... she had to, she just had to take all the memories and tuck them away; Klaus showing up her first night, the first time they made love, all the times they made love, waking up in Klaus's arms, all those meals, meeting his friends... meeting the girls, those sketches he drew of her and that look he always gave her—they would all would have to fit nicely into a little drawer that'd she'd tuck away in the back of her mind... and she realized, in the back of her heart as well.

"Mmm... right..." Caroline said quietly, nodding, trying to mask the disappointment and hurt she felt. She cleared her throat and stood up, and Klaus watched her, noticing the change in her demeanor. "...cause I'm just someone you had sex with and slept with over the holidays..." she said, trying to sound nonchalant, but she realized it sounded terse, and Klaus was immediately defensive.

"Uh, I thought that I was just someone that _you_ had sex with and slept with on _your_ holiday... the cabana boy, remember?" he said, trying to make her laugh.

"Oh man..." Caroline breathed half laughing and half sighing, "I think we just went way past complicated..."

"Right... I'm just an artist from London, and you're a..." Klaus sighed and gazed at Caroline, "...beautiful TV news producer from Virginia... We're worlds apart... Literally and figuratively..." he saw her sad smile again and wanted to hear her laugh. "I have a cow... right in my backyard..." Caroline smiled and could hardly contain her laugh, looking at Klaus's face. He knew that even though she was from Virginia, she'd grown up in suburbs her whole life, between the State and National capitals, and had never had large interactions with farms or livestock.

"You have a cow... in your backyard...?" she chuckled.

"Yep... I sew and I have a cow... How's that for hard to relate to?" he said, with his cheeky dimpled grin that Caroline adored. She reeled in her laughter and gazed at him with a smile, raising her eyebrows, "Pretty up there..." They stood apart, but barely a breath away, gazing at each other, and as Caroline searched Klaus's sea green eyes, she found it unbearable to think that this would probably be the last time that she'd see those unique and captivating eyes.

Her hand flew to her chest and pressed to her sternum, not feeling the stabbing pain in her chest, but feeling her heart beat faster and feeling her breath quicken, and she took a deep breath and tapped her chest softly in an attempt to calm down her body and it's frantic reactions. She had to do something quickly, she couldn't stand there any longer in his house, in his studio, surrounding by his art, knowing what she looked like in his eyes after seeing his sketches and say goodbye, again... He didn't say it the last time, neither of them could bring themselves to say it then, and she knew she couldn't bring herself to say it now.

"Well, I won't impose on you any longer..." she said, moving towards the door to grab her coat and her clutch.

"Trust me, you're no imposition whatsoever..." Klaus assured her, realizing that she wanted to leave, so he followed behind her to walk her out.

"No, you're right, I'm just a... what was it, you called me? Oh right, a 'bad influence' on the girls..." she said, turning to give him her own cheeky grin as she slipped her arms into her coat.

"Yes now that is a completely legitimate reason for me to kick you out... I will not tolerate being usurped in front of my children any longer..." he said with false anger and they both chuckled.

"Well then... thank you for having me... even though I showed up uninvited..." she added.

"No no, thanks for dropping by uninvited... it was an unexpectedly great evening..." he said, smiling. They gazed at each other for another moment, neither sure of what to do, but suddenly both started moving their heads closer to the other and both hesitated, not sure if the other wanted to kiss or not, so Caroline quickly angled her head. Klaus understood her attempt to kiss on the cheek, so they both gave each other a quick peck on the cheek, Caroline smiled and turned and walked out the door and down the steps. Klaus stood in the doorway, holding on the the door like he had when she arrived, tapping his foot agitatedly, then took a deep breath.

"Caroline!"

"Yes?" she spun around quickly to face him. He wanted to say, _I don't want you to go_, but the words got caught in his chest as he looked at her. He knew this was the moment, he should say goodbye, if there was ever a moment to say it, it was now. He probably wouldn't be able to see her again, what with the girls and with work, but just like after their first night together, seeing her walk away from him was too much.

"I'm glad you came tonight..." he said, and it wasn't a lie. He at least wanted to make sure she knew he didn't regret her coming to his house and meeting the girls, even after that speech he'd given her, he was glad and he didn't want her to feel guilty about it later.

Caroline gazed at the amazing, strong man in front of her, and just like the day after their first night, she knew he was trying to say goodbye without saying the words. And his honest speech in his studio, she knew he really cared if he was saying that to her. He was one of the most honest people she'd ever met, and she was so grateful to him.

"Ditto..." she replied, giving him the same tender face she gave him then and they smiled at one another before Caroline turned and walked back to Rebekah's car and slowly drove away. Klaus took a deep breath, watching her turn the corner and leave the neighborhood before turning to go back inside and closed the door behind him with a heavy hearted sigh.

* * *

_**Author's Note**__: _Okay so... LET THE FANGIRLING BEGIN! DON'T YOU JUST LOVE PAPA KLAUS?! And someone suggested I name the girls after Tatia and other characters on the show, so I thought it would be nice to memorialize Henrik and name Henriette after him and Nina for our lovely Nina Dobrev, keeping with the Bulgarian/Russian/Eurasian background of the Petrovas... Next up: a complete Mabekah/Rebekah chapterPLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS! THEY ARE MY CRACK AND NEED THEM TO FUEL MY WRITING FIRE! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

"I just feel so bad for him, Bon... like no one else understands better than I do..." Rebekah sighed as she sat on the couch in Bonnie's apartment. She sipped the tea she'd picked up at Starbucks and Bonnie sat the Peppermint Mocha Rebekah had bought her on the coffee table and sat beside her, curling her feet up below her.

"I know, Beks, but you shouldn't feel bad... this was probably for the best... I know that's not very supportive, and I don't think that Jules was necessarily bad for him but she wasn't good either..." Bonnie explained, patting Rebekah's leg comfortingly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters," Bonnie began, "Matt hated her being away in Richmond all the time, but things are pretty tight and Jules being out of his house alleviated his expenses in a way, which he'll never admit he was happy about but..." Bonnie sighed and took a moment to take a sip of her drink and then continued, "...Matt's been on his own or providing for others his whole life..."

"Right... I know, he told me about his mom and his sister, Vicki..."

"Yeah... so you know Matt's had it pretty rough... And like I said, not that Jules was bad before this whole cheating thing, but... it's better that he knows and can move on... Matt doesn't deserve to be strung along..."

"Yeah, I know, you're right..." Rebekah said, playing with her cup, then her phone trilled alerting her that she had a new text. Rebekah put her cup down on the table to fish her phone out of her purse and opened the text and smiled.

"Speak of the devil..." she murmured and Bonnie cocked her head.

"Really? His timing is that good?" Bonnie laughed.

"Yep, apparently..." Rebekah said, quickly typing a text back to him and then putting it back in her purse and getting ready to leave, "...he's finished Alaric's theme music and wants me to hear it..."

"What?"

"Oh, I thought I told you..." Rebekah started crossing to the door, talking as she went, "...well I told you about Alaric's thing at the Virginia Historical Society... well Matt's composing some music for him to kind of motivate him to go up and give the speech..."

"You're kidding..." Bonnie replied, shock in her voice.

"Yeah, I know it's great, isn't it?" Rebekah said, opening the door, stepping out and turning to look at Bonnie, then seeing her face quickly added, "What is it?"

"It's just..." Bonnie looked pensive, "Matt hasn't composed in a while... well over a year, I'd say... I mean, I know it's for Alaric, but he wouldn't have met Alaric if it weren't for you... this is... this is great, Bekah, you have no idea..."

For some reason, Bonnie's admission reminded her of Matt telling her about Alaric and she couldn't help but smile after feeling the same swell of pride.

"Good... I'm glad... he's such a great guy and God knows he's helped me so much this holiday..." Rebekah said, smiling.

"You're amazing, Beks, I swear I'm going to tie you up and make sure you don't go back..." Bonnie joked, pulling the tall blonde in for a hug, which she reciprocated.

"I'll call you later, then?" she said, pulling away from the girl but taking her hand and squeezing it.

"Sounds good, say 'Hi' to Matt for me!" Bonnie said, squeezing her hand back and backing up into her apartment.

"I will... laters!" Rebekah added, giving Bonnie a small wave as she turned to walk down the hallway to the elevator that would take her out of Bonnie's apartment.

* * *

"It's open!" Matt called when he heard the knock on his door. Rebekah let herself in and closed the door behind her. She looked around and took in Matt's digs. It was the first time Rebekah had been inside, and it was a nice enough house. It was small and one level with plain and somewhat shabby interior. Bonnie's comments about Matt's humble life were starting to make sense.

"Matt?" she called out and she heard movement from a room down the hallway.

"Hey Beks! In here!" Matt's voice drifted from the room. Rebekah followed the sound of his voice.

"Hey..." she smiled as she plopped her purse down on the floor and took a seat in the chair next to him.

"Hey! I'm glad you could come... I just finished up, and I was just about to make some tea, want some?"

"Sure, that sounds great!" Rebekah smiled at him. Matt smiled and hopped up and left the room and walked down the hallway to the kitchen, and Rebekah heard the microwave and took her jacket off and draped it across the chair back and looked around. It was probably a bedroom once but Matt had converted it into a music room with a desk and computers and monitors and instruments, which she guessed he'd borrowed since she knew he only played the guitar.

She glanced around the desk and saw hundreds of sheets of music, all handwritten and the majority scribbled out beyond belief. She curiously picked up a sheet and saw short hand in the margins: _More soft... funnier... little more quirk... beauty in the underscoring... little melancholy that turns into bright hope..._ She was fascinated that he wrote notes to himself about the music, and she knew he'd probably grappled with finding the perfect melody to capture Alaric's spirit. She placed the sheet music back down on the desk and settled back into the chair, and soon Matt was crossing back into the room, a mug of tea in each hand.

"Sorry, I'm out of sugar, so I used honey..." he said, handing Rebekah a 1970's looking mug with brown flowers.

"That's fine!" Rebekah said, taking it with a smile and taking a sip. She tried to hide her reaction but Matt saw it and laughed.

"Sorry, I think I over honeyed..." he said, blushing.

"No worries..." she assured him, taking another sip for solidarity and then placing it down on the desk. "So what've you got..."

"Alright, so I called in my friends and we laid down tracks and I layered the music together... I wanna know what you think..."

"Alright... have at it..." she said, nodding. Matt pushed the space bar on the computer and music slowly filled the speakers and filled the room. A bright and confident piano was quickly accompanied by a beautifully complimentary guitar and other instruments made the composition more full. She listened to the bright and upbeat tune and smiled.

"It's good, right? It's cheeky..." Matt smiled.

"It sounds like Ric..." Rebekah smiled and the two listened for another minute before Matt finally spoke again.

"I... also made one for you..." he said, softly. Rebekah turned to him and gazed at him. She didn't know what to say, and Matt looked at her warmly before turning back to the computer and clicking a few things before turning and grabbing his guitar.

"Rebekah... if you were a melody..." he said, as she heard a soft underscoring start to play through his speakers, and after a few measures, Matt began to play his guitar. Rebekah swore her heard stopped the first time Matt's fingers strummed the guitar strings, and after a while, the words _soft... funny... quirk... beauty... melancholy... bright hope..._ flew through her mind and she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. It was... Rebekah had no words. She lacked the words to adequately describe how touching and beautiful the melody Matt was playing was.

"I used only the good notes..." he murmured, eyes cast downward, still putting his heart and soul into strumming the guitar in his hands. Rebekah looked up at him upon hearing this admission and she felt tears prickling at her eyes. She watched him strum the guitar and he finally looked up at her and her breath caught in her chest as she saw the look in his eyes. He was looking at her... like... like she'd just saved his life. She thought about what Bonnie had just told her, how she'd so quickly impacted his life and she couldn't bear it and smiled sadly and looked away.

She heard the accompaniment continue but she heard his guitar stop and she looked up and saw him gazing at her and she realized he was leaning in ever so slightly. They were sitting close to one another in their computer chairs and Rebekah held her breath as she watched his face draw closer and closer to hers. He finally stopped an inch short and she knew he was waiting for her to close the gap. She wanted to close the gap, she really did, but something was stopping her. A little voice in the back of her mind was telling her it was right, just not right now... He was rebounding, his heart had just been broken and so had hers... she knew if she were to do something now she'd regret it, and he probably would too. She turned her face away and cleared her throat, and Matt pulled back and cleared his throat as well.

"So I, um... I wondered about this part..." Matt recovered quickly, leaning over and clicking a few things to open Arthur's song up again and playing the last portion. "Do you think the tempo needs to be sped up, like this, or..." he started to play the melody a touch faster than it was on the recording and Rebekah watched him. He was trying to recover and hide his disappointment that she hadn't kissed him, and was trying to distract himself so she played along.

"No, no... I think it's great as it is..." she said, leaning forward and swaying along with the tempo. Matt watched her and smiled and she smiled back at him and he suddenly began to laugh. She looked at him quizzically.

"What?"

"Nothing, just... is that how you English folk keep time with music?"

"Shut it, Donovan..." she laughed, shoving him playfully. The rest of the night Rebekah helped Matt edit Alaric's piece and the pair enjoyed each other's company.

* * *

"Really? I'd have pegged you as an Abigail Adams rather than an Eleanor Roosevelt..." Matt laughed, grabbing another potato skin and popping it in his mouth. Matt and Rebekah were grabbing lunch after spending most of the night and morning working on Alaric's song and hanging out. They were up so late, Matt insisted Rebekah spend the night rather than drive back, tired and in the dark, so she took his bed while he took the pull out sleeper sofa. After sleeping in and waking up at lunchtime, Rebekah insisted she treat Matt for letting her crash.

"Hey, I'll take either over Margaret Thatcher..." Rebekah laughed as she sipped her Diet Coke. "Alaric is such a character..."

"That he is..." Matt laughed. Matt's phone suddenly trilled in his coat pocket, and he wiped his hands on his napkin before turning slightly to reach behind himself and grab it from his pocket. The look on his face changed as he looked at the caller I.D. and Rebekah was immediately worried.

"What? Who is it?"

"Its... Jules..." he said quietly, not putting his phone away but not answering it either, and glancing at Rebekah.

Before he even answered the phone, Rebekah knew not only was he going to take the call, but he was going to give Jules a second chance. She knew herself too well and she'd been at the receiving end of too many of those phone calls and the outcome was always the same: your heart weighs too heavily because you felt so much for that person and you feel like you owe it not just to them, but to yourself and the relationship you had to hear them out, for closure's sake. So she gave him a small, understanding smile and sure enough, Matt hit talk on his phone and slowly put it to his ear.

"Hello? ...Hi..." he said softly, sounding insecure and reserved. Rebekah tried to not listen in but Matt didn't move so she didn't really have a choice.

"Uh... I'm doing good... actually, I'm a bit tied up at the moment, Jules... I don't know... what time were you going to be there? All right I'll be there... in like half an hour... Okay... bye..." he said and hung up the phone. He turned back to Rebekah, who put on a happy and expectant face.

"Well?" she asked.

"She misses me..." he said quietly. Rebekah knew the rest before he explained it. He was going to go and meet her and hear her out. She would've done the same thing, hell... she has done the same thing with Damon. So the wheel keeps turning and nothing ever changes... I knew it wouldn't... she thought sadly. But she smiled and put on her happy face to be supportive.

"You see... she's come to her senses..." she said quickly, then turned back to her plate with her half eaten potato skin and sighed. "We should get the bill..." she turned to flag down their waitress.

"Oh no, don't do that... take your time, I can wait until you're finished..." he insisted.

"I'm finished!" she insisted back, putting her napkin on the table.

"No come on, you didn't even get your chicken bruschetta pasta yet..." he said calling her bluff.

"It's fine, I know you need to go, I can get that to go," she said waving over the waitress.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later at the Virginia Historical Society... well... if you make it..."

"I'm going to really try to be there, but I don't know how long this Jules thing is going to take..." he admitted.

"It's fine..." she said, motioning for the waitress to get her a shot from the bar which the waitress nodded and went to fetch her a drink.

"Okay, and I'll bring the music... I mean... ugh, I'm going to really try to make it but I don't know how long it'll take to sort things out with Jules..."

"It's all good... don't worry..." she said, giving him a genuine smile and understanding eyes, and Matt gazed at her appreciatively before leaning over and kissing Rebekah's forehead and grabbing his keys.

"Okay, I'm gonna run... just tell them to take anything out of my paycheck... get anything you want!"

"Good luck..." she added softly, and Matt smiled and thanked her before turning and leaving.

Once again, she was the second choice. Rebekah quickly threw back the whisky the waitress had brought her as her own words echoed in her ears: And how in the hell for that brief moment you could think that you were that happy. She had let herself fall into too easily, just as she always did, as Nik always said she did. "I try... I try so hard and... I'm never the one..." she thought sadly to herself.

She nodded at the waitress to refill her cup and she sipped this refill of whiskey slower as she mulled over in her head what to do next. She had been planning on spending the time before Alaric's gala with Matt, and now that Matt had ditched her, she didn't even feel like going. But she couldn't do that to Alaric, not after how good he had been to her. No, she'd go back to Caroline's house and kill some time before going over to pick up Alaric on the way to the gala. She sat, sipping her drink, waiting for her food to come wrapped up as Matt's melody echoed in her mind.

* * *

Rebekah sighed as she placed the plate she'd used to reheat the chicken bruschetta pasta she'd brought back from the Grille in the sink and trudged to the living room. She passed the table in the hallway and she saw the pages Damon had sent her last week. She took a deep breath and took the pages and went and grabbed a red pen from Caroline's office then went back down the stairs to flop down on the couch. Just as she was about to put pen to paper, her cell phone on the coffee table rang. She put the pages down and picked up the phone.

"Hello? ...DAMON! I'm just reading your pages... no, I haven't forgotten I was just busy that's all... no, I was going to call you once I'd finished them... what kind of surprise...?" Rebekah got off the couch and began curiously looking around the house, wondering if some of the cleaning people or staff had brought a package inside and left it somewhere.

"Well I don't see a box or anything... yes, I'm sure... hold on, I'm going to check the kitchen... not in there, okay well I'll go and check the gate and see if the post man perhaps left it there... well when did you send it?!" she asked as she opened the door and was stunned right where she stood seeing those baby blue eyes and smirk that had kept her in therapy for years.

"Damon..." she gasped as the phone slid from her ear.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Bum bum bum! So sorry to leave you guys with a cliffhanger at the end of the world but I knew I'd leave it off there even before I started writing it. So here's to hoping the world doesn't end and not only do you all get to see where this is going, but we get more Klaroline in 2013! xoxoxo **a-little-blonde-distraction**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: **So I'm so grateful to get getting so much feedback from you all! I read each and every review you leave me on FF and on tumblr, and they make my heart swell... Everyone seemed to be going bonkers with the cliffhanger I left you off on, so if you've seen the movie, you know what's coming... Rebekah will be squaring off with Damon ;) Okay, enough chatter! Here you are, my darlings...

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

Rebekah hurriedly attempted to get the corkscrew into the cork of the bottle of wine she had in her hands on the island in Caroline's kitchen. She was struggling somewhat and that was probably because she wasn't looking at what she was doing at all; she was too busy watching Damon like a hawk as he inspected Caroline's home. He was wandering around the dining room, having made his way from the living room and slowly made his way to the kitchen and to Rebekah. The moment he turned and was facing her, she quickly looked down at the bottle of wine, making it look as if she were overly involved in trying to open it. He watched her fumble with the corkscrew and smirked his well-known smirk.

"Nice digs, this Forbes girl's got..." he remarked lightly. Rebekah didn't acknowledge the comment with more than nodding so he added on to his statement."It suits you..."

Rebekah chuckled at that comment disbelievingly as she finally got the cork out of the wine bottle and carefully placed the cork and corkscrew on the island countertop. "Huh, yeah right..." she scoffed.

"No really it does..." Damon affirmed, studying her. She was attempting to keep her hands from shaking, as much as she could, in front of Damon while pouring the wine into the glasses.

"Are you going to actually look at me, or..." Damon finally said pointedly. "You know I came here because... I had to see you..." Rebekah finished pouring wine in the final glass and placed the bottle down and took a deep breath and slowly brought her eyes up to his face, the face that had caused her so much heartbreak and anguish, the face that had literally driven her from her own country at the holidays. A million emotions and thoughts coursed through her mind and body as she looked at him and he simply smirked and waved at her with a waggle of his fingers.

"Hello there..." he grinned. Rebekah sighed and the onslaught of words started without her permission.

"Damon, I really don't understand this, I mean I was right there for three years, remember? 'Square peg, round hole'!?" she said, and when she saw the confused look on his face at her quotation, she rolled her eyes and clarified, "You said that once, two years ago, that we weren't right for each other, that we didn't fit, we were 'a square peg and a round hole'..."

"I don't remember saying any of that... you must have me confused with someone else..." Damon said dismissively, crossing around the table to take her hands, "all I know is that I hated it when you were gone, it drove me crazy that I wasn't hearing from you! I've never checked my emails more, I finally understand what it's like to be a needy girl for once!" Rebekah practically flinched at his mention of being a 'needy girl' and seeing the look on her face, he moved his hands to hold her by the shoulders and squeeze them gently

"I don't want to lose you, babe..." he said convincingly, searching her eyes for confirmation and acceptance. She gazed back at him adoringly, taking in his passionate declaration, but then thinking through the substance of what he'd said.

"'Lose me'?" she repeated and scoffed a bit causing him to drop his hands as she brought hers up to her face, "Ugh... this is too confusing..." Damon gently brought her hands down from her face and gave her a sweet, sympathetic look.

"Hey..." he said gently, then opened his arms, "come here" he invited her in. Rebekah hesitated for a moment but went against the nagging voice in her mind as she rationalized that Damon had never been this open or direct about his feelings towards her, even when they were still dating, and that must mean something. She also just wanted to feel his arms around her, so she folded into his arms, her cheek against his chest, his chin resting on the top of her head, and his arms wrapped around her. The embrace was familiar... yet not as comforting as she remembered.

* * *

_Meanwhile, across town..._

"I screwed up, Matt, I screwed us up... I'm human, and I made a mistake... I was stupid and impulsive and selfish... he wasn't what I thought... I should've never done that to you..." Jules pleaded with Matt, pacing around his living room while he sat, stone-faced on the couch.

He listened to her rambling apologies, explaining away sneaking around behind his back for the past six months with this sous chef in Richmond, whom she had newly discovered was sneaking around on her and had ditched her. Matt was trying to do the right thing and hear her out, but instead all he heard was a beautiful and melancholic melody that he couldn't help but mimic the guitar chords with his left hand, his right strumming the beat on his right knee. He was lost in thought and lost in the melody when he finally heard Jules finish.

"...so all I can really say is, 'I'm sorry' and hope that you'll forgive... Will you, Matt? Will you forgive me? Please?" Matt looked up at Jules sadly, remembering the girl he once knew and loved, and even though he felt like he was looking at a different person, she had come to him and apologized. He had to be realistic._ She's going to be leaving in a few days to go back home... What kind of life can I have with her? _he thought to himself, although the options he weighed with 'her' weren't with Jules. He made up his mind with a sigh and gestured for Jules to come over and she quickly raced over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

* * *

_Back at Caroline's house..._

Rebekah and Damon were relaxing in Caroline's living room, Damon reclining on the couch with his feet up and Rebekah laying beside him, looking down on his face with her head propped up in her hand. The lights were dimmed and Damon had finished telling Rebekah about things that had been going on back in the U.K. and what she'd missed since she left.

"But you know what I was thinking? When you get back to London, maybe we can go away somewhere for a while? What about Madrid? Or Venice? How about that?"

"Do you mean that?" Rebekah smiled, but raised her eyebrows, and placed a hand on top of his, which were resting on top of his chest. "I mean, are you _free_ to do that?" She wondered how many people would talk about him and her just suddenly jetting off to Venice after New Years.

"Beks, I've just traveled across an ocean to come and see you, didn't I?" he said with a smirk. Rebekah smiled at him as he leaned up to kiss her and her eyelids slid shut to meet him, but upon replaying his words in her head, she paused and her eyes flipped right open.

"So that didn't exactly... answer my question..." she said firmly. "So are you... not engaged to Elena anymore? Is that what you've come here to tell me?" She searched his face for the answer, but he simply stared at her.

"I wish you could just except how complicated and difficult this is for me."

Rebekah stared at him disbelievingly, shocked that he was just sitting there and saying that.

"Right. So, let me translate that. You... _are_ still engaged to be married?" she asked, although it sounded more like a statement, one that she was hoping he'd refute.

"Well... yes, but..." Damon admitted begrudgingly. The second the affirmation was out of his mouth, Rebekah was up and off the couch, attempting to keep calm.

"Oh... my... god... This was... this was a really, _really_ close call... You know, I never thought I'd say this to you, never, but, I think you were completely right about us! Very square peg, very round hole!"

"Oh come on, you don't mean that..." he said just as dismissively as he'd sounded earlier in the kitchen.

"The great thing is I actually do!" Rebekah said, her confidence growing as she talked, looking down at Damon on the couch, "And I'm about three years late in telling you this, Damon, but... but..." she looked at him, sitting up facing her with the dim lights casting shadows all over his gorgeous, angular face, and distracting her. "I need the lights on..." she interrupted herself and crossed to the light switches to put all of the lights on. Damon scoffed and sat up more as she crossed back to him in the more brightly lit room.

"Damon..." she started again, taking a deep breath to summon up the courage, and once she started, she couldn't be stopped. "You've never treated me right, _never_..." Damon tried to protest but she shushed him to quiet him immediately, which he surprisingly fell silent.

"You broke my heart... You acted like somehow it was _my_ fault, _my_ misunderstanding and I was too in love with you to ever be mad at you, so I just punished myself for years! But you waltzing in here on my lovely Christmas holiday, telling me 'you don't want to lose me,' whilst you're about to get **married**, somehow newly entitles me to say: It's **over**. This... this.. twisted toxic _thing_ between you and I is finally **_through_**."

She began to laugh amazed and triumphantly, and practically sang, "I'm miraculously and finally done being in love with you! I've got a life to start living!" She crossed and grabbed his coat which had been draped over one of the living room chairs and moved towards the door. Damon scrambled off the couch and followed her and she paused to turn back and say to him happily as she came to the realization, "...and you're not going to be in it!"

Damon tried to protest but Rebekah continued, "Now I've got a really important and glamorous gala to go to and get ready for so you have got to get the hell out... RIGHT NOW!" she said firmly and loudly as she held the front door open.

"What the hell has gotten into you?" Damon asked, standing between Rebekah and the doorway.

"I don't know!" she said excitedly, "but I have a feeling what I've got is slightly resembling... **_chutzpah_**!" she finished and promptly slammed the door in Damon's face. She turned her back to the door and looked around, surprised at herself, and suddenly let out a triumphant and reverberating holler and couldn't help but raise up her arms in triumph at what she'd finally accomplished. She suddenly snapped into overdrive as she rushed to shower, dry her hair, style her hair, do her makeup and get dressed to go and pick up Alaric so they wouldn't be late to the gala in Richmond.

With Damon long gone, as she knew he'd be, Rebekah pulled Caroline's car around to the front of Alaric's house next door and parked the car carefully and practically leapt out and ran up to the door as fast as she could in her heels. She rang the door bell and almost instantly, Alaric answered the doorbell, looking dapper in the tuxedo Matt and Rebekah had bought with him.

"Rebekah!" he gasped looking at her, and the young woman smiled at the kind old man, "You're a knock out!" Rebekah laughed and looked down and smoothed the skirt of her sparkly Coast Kerr sequin dress and cleared her throat.

"Thank you! And so are you, you handsome devil..." she smirked.

"Does my bow tie look okay? I haven't done one in years, and Isobel always..." his smile faltered a bit but Rebekah was already straightening it for him.

"It's perfect..." she smiled reassuringly.

"Good... I have something for you..." he said, turning and getting something off the table in the foyer. Rebekah glanced over his shoulder trying to see what it was, and gasped appreciatively when he turned with a white corsage with a silver ribbon in his hand. "The last time I went on a date, this is what we did..."

"It's beautiful..." she gasped, loving how he had intuitively bought her a corsage with a silver ribbon with black stripes that matched her outfit and dress perfectly.

"If you don't like it or it's going to ruin your outfit, you don't have to wear it... I won't mind..." he said sheepishly, turning it over in his hands, "It's a little archaic and old-fashioned, I'll admit..." Rebekah simply smiled and took the corsage out of his hand, proudly put it on her left wrist and kissed his cheek to thank him.

"I like old-fashioned... what heroine couldn't use some old-fashioned in her life?"

"Well said..." he said, a hint of surprise in his voice. She laughed at his reaction.

"It's all those books!" she laughed, referring to all the historical novels featuring strong heroines he'd forced her to read over the past few days. He chucked and then took a deep breath.

"Alright. Let's go... let's go get this embarrassment over with..."

"Oh, Ric..." Rebekah chuckled and rolled her eyes at him, taking his arm and leading him to Caroline's car.

* * *

After a surprisingly easy two hour drive to Richmond, Rebekah and Alaric made it to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, where the Gala was being hosted. Rebekah pulled up and a valet met her and took her keys and she walked around to the other side to help Alaric. They slowly made their way into the impressive building, and Rebekah was very grateful that an official looking man in a tux with a walkie talkie met them in the entrance as they handed over their outwear to coat check.

"Dr. Saltzman?" he said hesitantly, approaching them and glancing back and forth between Rebekah and Alaric.

"Yes..." Alaric said quietly.

"It's an honor to meet you sir, please just follow me this way..." he nodded to Alaric out of respect then gestured with an open hand in the direction that he would be leading the pair. Alaric harumphed and latched onto Rebekah's hand, which she covered with her other and followed the man with the walkie talkie.

"'An honor,' what baloney..." Alaric muttered while the man quietly communicated to the others on radio. Rebekah squeezed his hand supportively and laughed, rolling her eyes at him. Soon they came to some double doors with two more official looking men stationed outside.

"Dr. Saltzman... it's a pleasure... we've been expecting you..." one of the men stated with a smile. Alaric barely nodded to acknowledge the man's statement, and the other held his finger up to his ear, pushing the button to his microphone attached to the lapel of his jacket and quietly said, "We have Dr. Saltzman at the south entrance..." Alaric suddenly gripped Rebekah's arm more tightly and glanced over at her, and she met his glance and smiled.

"Ready?" she asked lightly, ready to charge ahead or cut and run the second he gave the word. Alaric said nothing but merely nodded and then turned back towards the men at the doors, who'd each taken a handle, and nodded to them. The men nodded back with smiles and opened the doors. Rebekah and Alaric took a step forward into the doorway and were met by a booming voice over a loud speaker.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you, **_Dr. Alaric Saltzman_**!" a woman at a podium at the front of the theater announced with gusto, immediately applauding once she'd finished her introduction and inciting everyone else in the full house to stand, turning towards the double doorway where Rebekah and Alaric stood, and applaud.

The two stood there in shock, both not realizing how many people would be gathered. Alaric had made jokes about disappointing the 'twelve schmucks who showed up just to see that he hadn't kicked the bucket,' but neither dreamed that a theater full of people would've turned up to hear Alaric speak.

Rebekah immediately smiled and laughed in surprise and turned to Alaric. The elderly man was visibly moved and was holding back tears and gritting his teeth, his eyes getting shinier with the tears he held at bay. Rebekah squeezed his hand supportively to spur him forward, and they slowly made their way down the inclined aisle, the crowd never faltering in their applause or cheering, and Alaric spotted David, Pascal and Joshua at one point and clasped Pascal's hand since he was on the aisle seat.

An attendant in a tux was standing by the third row to direct Rebekah to her seat and pass off Alaric and help him to the stairs. Rebekah smiled and turned to Alaric and gave him a quick squeeze of a hug and kissed his cheek and whispered, "Go get 'em, tiger..." and passed his arm off to the attendant, who led him closer to the stage. Rebekah crossed into the aisle and stood in front of her seat and began clapping along with the rest of the crowd as Alaric approached the stage and she held her breath in anticipation for him.

"May I, Dr. Saltzman?" the attendant paused with Alaric at the bottom of the stairs. Alaric stared at the steps, looking uneasy and wavering. Then suddenly, Rebekah heard a familiar tune and she gasped. _Alaric's song!_ she thought excitedly, and she began looking around, trying to figure out where it was coming from or if _he_ was there. _He has to be here, he said he'd bring the music_, she thought to herself and she smiled even wider looking over and seeing Alaric puff out his chest proudly and wave the attendant aside. The attendant respectfully stepped to the side and with one deep breath, Alaric practically did a Broadway number as he easily ascended the stairs.

She couldn't contain her happiness and eventually stopped looking around and brought thumb and middle finger to her mouth and whistled for Alaric, which many people in the theater mimicked. He got to the top and reached inside his jacket pocket and retrieved his notecards and pointed and gave a thumbs up to the audience. Rebekah was a little confused who at the back of the house Alaric was gesturing to until she heard a voice suddenly beside her.

"The man is a superstar..."

Rebekah gasped and turned, happy to see Matt's adorably disheveled hair and handsome grin all dressed up and looking dashing in his tuxedo. She smiled like the Cheshire Cat and barely managed a, "Hi!" she was so surprised. He took the aisle seat next to her and leaned in close and spoke loud enough for her to hear over the applauding crowd.

"I'm sorry I'm late, the Jules thing took a while, but it's over. She and I are over, done, finished, finito, kaput..." he said confidently and assuredly while gazing at her. She tried to hide her surprise and happiness at the news, but Matt knew her better than that and grinned cheekily, and looked back up at Alaric. Rebekah followed suit, but suddenly Matt turned back towards her, looking her up and down and then suddenly murmured, "You look gorgeous..." Rebekah turned back to him, caught off guard by the compliment and could only manage to blush as he confidently leaned in a placed a kiss to her cheek. The applause started to curtail and everyone started to take their seats, so Rebekah and Matt followed suit.

"Well... I'm... I'm just... I'm absolutely overwhelmed..." Alaric started into the microphone, then suddenly gestured beside him, "...that I could climb those stairs! Wowza!" The audience laughed at his joke, and Rebekah and Matt laughed along with them and Alaric continued.

"I started my life-long affair with history and historical studies as a freshman at Duke University in 1962 and it's been a journey that has given me the career of a lifetime... When I first came to East Coast from the Lone Star State, there was no such things as Wikipedia or Google..." The crowd chuckled at his age-showing, but honest joke, and he added, "...and your research had to be collected by pouring through hundreds of thousands of dusty old tomes, not by the click of a button..." The crowd laughed again and Rebekah smiled.

"He is so brilliant..." she murmured appreciatively gazing at him. Matt turned and looked at the pretty blonde gazing up at the stage and cleared his throat.

"Rebekah? ...What are you doing on New Years Eve?" he whispered, watching her face for her reaction. She turned to him, wanting to smile but her heart fell in her stomach, and she looked at him sadly.

"I'll be back in England by New Years Eve..." she admitted, casting her eyes down sadly, before looking back up at Alaric.

"Oh..." he said simply, still watching her face, "I've never been to England before... I've actually never been to Europe..."

"No?" she asked, afraid to look away from Alaric standing behind the podium.

"Nope..." Matt said, eyes still glued to her, "...If I come over there, would you go out with me on New Years Eve?" Rebekah turned back to Matt, shocked again, seeing his hopeful face with yet a single eyebrow quirked. She could see he was dead serious and she couldn't believe her luck: an amazing, funny, considerate, good-looking and newly single guy that she had phenomenal chemistry with was not only asking her on a date, but _willing to cross an ocean to go on it with her_.

It took her all of two seconds before she quickly leaned in, taking his face in both hands and planting a happy and passionate kiss to his lips. She was pleased that she'd seemingly caught him off guard as she felt him tense up a bit at their initial contact, but then he relaxed and she felt his hand come to rest softly on her forearm. Hearing a couple of throats clear, she finally released him and smiled at him brightly.

"I'd love to..." she smiled, then brought her hands back down to her lap and turned back to Alaric. She knew she wouldn't be able to keep her hands off of Matt if she looked at him again and she kept her eyes glued to Alaric, so she wasn't able to see Matt silently clench his fist in triumph and celebration. Both grinned stupidly from ear to ear the rest of Alaric's speech and when the historical society opened the ballroom up for cocktails and hor d'oeuvres, Matt even took the opportunity to hold Rebekah's hand, and she happily threaded her fingers between his.

* * *

The next day was Christmas Eve and just as Rebekah had finally gotten off of the phone with Bonnie, telling her all about the previous night and everything that happened with Matt, her cell rang again, and she answered it without even looking at it.

"Hello?"

"So have you completely defected to the U.S., or when can the girls and I expect to see you again?"

"Oh my god, hi!" Rebekah said, so excited to actually hear Klaus's voice for the first time in weeks. He was her favorite brother and was closest to him out of all her siblings, and it was really rare for them to go such a long time without talking to one another.

"Happy Christmas, sweetheart..." Klaus smiles, happy to hear his baby sister is alive and well, "...so how's it going over there?"

"Really great! I just went to this big gala last night, I escorted a friend there, he was the keynote speaker..."

"Hmm, really?" Klaus asked with a suggestive tone, "what's he like?"

"He's really cute, I feel great when I'm around him, which, you know is a totally new experience and... he's almost 70 years old..." she finally finished, holding back laughter.

"Oh come off it..." Klaus sniggered.

"He's my next door neighbor, well, Caroline's next door neighbor, and I've also gotten really close with her friend, Matt... you know, speaking of Caroline, you should pop over and meet her!"

"...I have... actually..." Klaus replied hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell Rebekah about how involved he and Caroline were, especially considering she would be leaving in the next few days, and he didn't want to open up that whole can of worms of a discussion with Rebekah. He was suddenly saved by a beeping and he heard Rebekah mutter.

"Oh, bugger... call waiting... can you hold on for a sec? I really want to talk to you," she said, smiling, excited to tell him more about Matt.

"Sure..." Klaus said, crossing his legs. He was on the train traveling back into London from an art exhibition and he wasn't in the quiet car so he didn't feel guilty about being on his phone.

"Great... okay hold on a minute..." Rebekah pulled the phone away and pressed the talk button again and put the phone back to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Rebekah? Hi, it's Caroline..."

"Hi! Happy Christmas! How are you?"

"It's going great, how are you?"

"I'm loving it here, Bonnie's keeps saying she's going to kidnap me and not let me return... But do you mind, can you hold on for a sec? I've got my brother on the other line, and I..."

"Klaus?!" Caroline didn't mean to cut Rebekah off, and in hindsight she regretted it, remembering that Klaus wasn't Rebekah's only brother, and suddenly wondering if this was the first time they had talked since Rebekah had left the U.K.

"Yes, he said you'd met?"

"Yes..." Caroline said, hesitantly, "...we did... meet... how is he?"

"Fine I think... do you mind, could you hold on for a sec?"

"Sure..."

"Thanks..." Rebekah switched over to the other line. "Hi, sorry, that was Caroline!"

"Really?! How is she doing?!" Klaus suddenly realized how overly eager he sounded, asking about someone who was supposed to be, at most, a casual acquaintance that's staying in his sister's home temporarily. He winced, hoping that Rebekah didn't notice, although deep down he knew she would and knew she had when there was a pause before she answered.

"She just asked how you were..." her voice was congenial, but slightly questioning.

"And what did you say?!"

"I asked her to hold," she responded blankly pausing then she suddenly asked, "Can I call you back?"

"...Uh... I can hold... while you speak to her..." he asserted lamely, not wanting to tip off Rebekah but genuinely wanting to check up on Caroline. It had been a couple of days since she'd shown up at his house, and they had only texted back and forth and hadn't been able to see each other since he was out busy visiting art exhibitions and had the girls.

"Really?"

"Yeah... find out how she is."

"Um... okay..." Rebekah replied, a slight confused chuckle in her voice and he heard her beep over to the other line.

"My brother just asked how you are..." she said to the blonde American on the other end of the line.

"Can you tell him I'm good, and I'm just taking Julie for a walk around the village?" Caroline replied happily, smiling upon hearing Klaus was inquiring about her, and continued, "What's he been up to? How'd the art exhibition go? Did he say?"

"I'm not sure..." Rebekah replied, wondering how Caroline knew that Klaus had just been at an art exhibition if they'd only met briefly, "...would you like me to ask him?"

Caroline halted for a moment on the sidewalk with Julie, wondering for a second if this was weird, having a conversation with her holiday hook-up by proxy, with the proxy being none other than her holiday hook-up's sister, and realized she wasn't answering Rebekah, who was still waiting for a response, and finally just blurted out, "Uh, sure!"

"Okay, hold please..." Rebekah replied, hoping she sounded calm and considerate before switching over to the other line with her brother, and then based on her gut instincts, closed in on him. "I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE HAVING SEX WITH THE WOMAN STAYING IN MY HOUSE!"

Caroline gasped, nearly spinning on the sidewalk. "HE TOLD YOU THAT?!"

Rebekah gaped, horror struck realizing her error and that she'd just screamed all of that into the phone not at her brother, as she'd thought, but at Caroline.

"OH MY GOD!" Rebekah cried.

"_OH _**_MY_****_GOD_**!" Caroline replied.

"OH _MY _**_GOD_**!" Rebekah cringed, still reeling from her slip up. "I thought I was talking to Nik! Could you just hold, please? I'm really, _really_ sorry!" Rebekah, mortified, didn't wait for Caroline to respond and quickly clicked over to the other line.

"I can't _BELIEVE_ that you've had sex with Caroline..." Rebekah started up again to Klaus, "The one thing she asked me was, 'Are there any men in your town?' which I _ASSURED_ her there were not, and then YOU meet her and immediately get into her knickers!"

Caroline uncomfortably shifted from foot to foot. "...Still me..."

Rebekah squeaked and clutched the phone to her chest in embarrassment, her whole face, bright red. "BULLOCKS!" Caroline could vaguely make out Rebekah muttering something about losing Klaus on the other line. She was mortified beyond belief, she just stood there on a random sidewalk in the village a few miles from Rebekah's house, Julie peering up at her questioningly. Rebekah knew she had to face the music and apologize to Caroline, so she slowly put the phone back to her ear.

"Caroline?"

"Mmhmm?" she replied uncomfortably from the other end.

"I am so... sorry..." Rebekah started to apologize, but she suddenly heard her call waiting beep again, and she felt like she'd been saved by the beep. "Can I call you back?"

Caroline grimaced at the thought of having to talk to Rebekah now that she knew about her and Klaus but she didn't know what else to say except, "Uh... sure..."

"Okay... bye..." Rebekah quickly ended the call with Caroline and switched to the other line on hold, expecting it to be Klaus, "Yes, hello?" She couldn't help the agitated and sarcastic tone of her greeting.

"...Hi, it's Stefan... am I in some sort of trouble?"

"Oh! Stefan! Hi, I'm sorry!" Rebekah immediately felt like a jerk for answering the phone so rudely. Stefan just chuckled, shaking it off hearing how apologetic she sounded.

"What are you up to this Christmas Eve, Miss Mikaelson?"

"Uh, not much! Matt has to work as much overtime as he can to pay for his plane ticket, so I'm wide open..."

"Yes, Bonnie told me about you and Matt, congratulations to the both of you..." he immediately added.

"Oh, thanks..." Rebekah smiled just thinking of Matt.

"Well Matt had originally planned on surprising you with tickets to the 5 o'clock showing of _Lincoln_, we were going to go as a group, Matt, you, me and Bonnie tonight at the Cineplex... are you still up for it, even if Matt can't go?"

Rebekah smiled, feeling so happy and lucky to have met such great people who really made her holiday one to remember.

"Of course! Sounds great... where and when shall I meet you two?"

* * *

**Author's Note**: So I considered leaving you off with a Klaroline cliffhanger (Klaroline kliffhanger?) but decided not to. I hope you all enjoyed this Mabekah chapter! I loved writing it and I was so happy they could finally be together! Please R&R and pretty please with sugar on top, have the Merriest Christmas and the Happiest of Holidays!  
**_xoxo a-little-blonde-distraction_**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: **YOU GUYS I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU ALL LIKED THE LAST CHAPTER... I'll be honest, I don't think there'll be any Mabekah smut for this story, it just doesn't feel right, the way their friendship and relationship has developed... Debating if I may or may not include something in the epilogue ;) We'll see...

Anyway, here's some more Klaroline for ya! I can't get enough of them...

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

Caroline groaned, hearing her phone beep again and pulled her shopping cart over to one side of the aisle. She dug her phone out of her pocket and the lock screen told her she had a new text message from Klaus. _Wondered when I'd finally hear from the man of the hour... _she thought to herself. She sighed and opened up the text message and read what Klaus sent her:

_**I just finished cleaning up the girls after dinner and listened to the 7 voicemails I had from Bekah... I apologize for my sister's rudeness and tactlessness...**_

Caroline chuckled at Klaus's embarrassed apology and immediately replied:

_**It's alright... I've almost recovered from my mortification... Almost...**_

She placed her phone on top of her purse that sat in the child's seat of the shopping art, hoping that he'd text her back. She perused the pasta on the shelves until she finally found the fettuccini and placed a box next to the jar of Alfredo sauce already in her cart. _Christmas fettuccini... Lovely... _she thought to herself sadly. She heard her phone beep again and read the text from Klaus:

_**I'm so sorry... If it makes you feel any better, I've been bombarded with texts and calls from each of my four siblings and their spouses...**_

She chuckled and opened up a new text and replied:

_**Yeah it does... A little… lol I've just had Bonnie and Stefan on my case... I can't imagine that many brothers and sisters getting all up in my business... Although I am happy that Bonnie didn't tell my mom or dad... They'd be on the next plane over here...**_

"Nina, I told you, you could play the game on the iPad after Ettie's done! She still has 3 minutes and 40 seconds on the microwave!" Klaus called into the living room.

"But, Daddy!" He heard his youngest protest.

"If that's a problem, you can go to bed early and miss out on sundaes..."

He paused and when he heard nothing, he smiled. He feared the day when ice cream was no longer a tool of manipulation and argument stopper.

He saw his phone light up and hear the trill letting him know he had a new text message. He opened the text, smiled seeing it was from Caroline. He read it and the smile slowly fell from his face. She was worried about her parents finding out, and he knew he probably shouldn't be offended but he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed she felt that way. He didn't know how to respond so he simply placed the phone down on the counter and crossed to the refrigerator to get the ice cream out of the freezer.

"Are we having mint chip, Dad?!" he heard Ettie's call from the living room.

"Of course, sweetheart!" he responded, calling back to her as he took the cartons of ice cream out of the freezer and placing them on the counter. He heard both daughters cheer in celebration and smirked, loving that it was just the little things that made them happy. He got some chocolate syrup, sprinkles and whipped cream and gathered them all by the ice cream and crossed to get bowls and spoons out. As heard his phone beep again. He placed the bowls on the table and went back to the counter to retrieve his phone and opened the text message he just received.

_**That sounded worse than I meant... I wouldn't mind my parents knowing you, they would just worry about me getting involved in a long distance relationship.**_

He sighed, understanding her conflicted feelings but glad that she would let him meet her parents if she could. He quickly typed a message back to her:

_**I understand, love... And thank you, I would be honored to meet your parents... And Stephen was it?**_

He smirked and began scooping mint chip into each bowl, paying close attention to putting equal portions in each bowls so as not to start a fight, and put toppings on each, and began spraying whipped cream on each and called to the girls.

"Sundaes are up, ladies!" he called and his phone trilled as soon as he put the whipped cream can down. He opened the message and chuckled:

_**Haha yeah, Stephen would love you, he says he's a sucker for accents... Probably wouldn't help my dad's opinion of you, making his partner go gaga every time you open your trap...**_

"What's so funny, Dad?" Ettie inquired as she sat down at the table, immediately digging into her sundae.

"Hmm?" he murmured, glancing up from his phone, then quickly putting it down on the counter. He put the cold and frozen items back into the fridge and started gathering the other toppings as well. "Oh nothing..."

"Was that from Caroline?" Nina asked, barely intelligible though the huge mouthful of ice cream. Klaus froze as he was putting the toppings away, and slowly turned towards his young daughter, her tiny face covered in chocolate.

"Why do you say that, love?"

"Because Caroline makes you laugh..." Nina clarified through another bite of ice cream.

"I laugh at lots of things..." he closed the cabinets and crossed to the table, "Like my youngest turning into a chocolate monster!" he grabbed a napkin off the table and tickled his daughter while he wiped her face.

"Yeah, but that's your Caroline laugh..." Ettie added, delicately eating a spoonful of ice cream before continuing to mix the ice cream and toppings together. He was stunned again and looked at his daughter questioningly.

"You've only seen me around Caroline once..."

"Yeah but when you laugh with her and at her, it's different than your normal laugh..." she added, taking another bite of her sundae soup. Klaus didn't answer his daughter and merely crossed to grab his phone and sat down at the table between the girls. He stared at it for a while, debating what he wanted to text her, _if _he wanted to text her. As he touched the screen to open a text message, it trilled alerting him of a new text from Caroline:

_**I miss you. I'm sitting here in the armchair by the fireplace with a plate of Christmas fettuccini, Julie at my feet and watching Doctor Who reruns... I'm such a cliché... **_

Klaus smirked at her self-defecating message, but felt his heart clench as he ran his fingers over the first words of her message. _**I miss you.**_ He opened a text message to reply, but suddenly deleted it and smiled as he got an idea.

Caroline sighed aggravated with herself and flipped aimlessly through the channels, hoping maybe if she found a Christmas movie it would cheer herself up. She glanced down at her phone and worried she'd stuck her foot in her mouth again while texting Klaus. After she'd sent the text about her parents, her words ran over and over in her mind again, and she immediately texted him back to clarify what she'd meant but had failed to say.

She was glad when he'd texted her back, acknowledging her apologetic clarification and had smiled at the rest of his message. He gained serious points for remembering her dad's partner's name, and she told him he'd win over Stephen instantly with his accent. She finally settled on BBC and saw that they were having a _Doctor Who_ marathon. She looked down at the plate of fettuccini in her lap and just past the plate at Rebekah's terrier Julie curled up at her feet, peering up at her. She sighed at how pitiful she was at that very moment, and it was all of her own doing. She grabbed her phone again and decided to text Klaus and let him know she missed him. Once she'd typed it, worried that it sounded too clingy, so she added on a bit telling him what she was doing and hit send. A few minutes passed and she began to worry that she had devalued her honest and heartfelt admission. She really did miss him, and she imagined he was spending time with the girls before sending them to bed. Just as she picked up her phone to text him, it beeped and the lock screen told her he had sent her a video. Her curiosity was piqued. She and Klaus hadn't sexted, at least not past reminiscing about past encounters which Caroline was not sure even really counted, and she wondered if Klaus's video message was sexual in nature. She opened the screen then pushed play on the video.

_**"Okay, go!" Klaus's voice said, obviously holding the camera. **_

_**"Hi, Caroline!" Ettie waved at the camera with a smile, and Nina shouted, "HI CAROLINE!" from off camera. **_

_**"Happy Christmas and we hope we see you soon!" Klaus's eldest smiled at the camera. **_

_**"WE CAN BAKE SOME BISCUITS!" Nina shouted over top of her sister and the camera soon turned to the tiny girl, who, seeing the camera trained on her suddenly became the biggest ham, playing to it and striking poses. **_

_**Klaus sniggered from behind the camera, and then added, "Anything else, ladies?"**_

_**"WE LOVE YOU!" Nina shouted at the camera, and then the camera turned to Ettie.**_

_**"Ettie?"**_

_**"We miss you..." the girl said, more quietly than her sister, "I wish you didn't have to go..."**_

_**"COME BACK AND SEE US BEFORE YOU GO!" Nina shouted over her sister again. The camera suddenly spun around, showing Klaus close up.**_

"_**Hello, love… we just wanted to pop in and say 'Hello!' and 'Happy Christmas' and we hope to see you soon… especially me," he winked at the camera, "…so don't wallow in self-pity, have a brandy for both of us and have a lovely Christmas, love…"**_

"_**AND DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE BISCUITS FOR SANTA CLAUS!" Nina called from off camera and Klaus laughed.**_

"_**Talk to you later, Caroline… I've gotta get these two off to bed, and before Santa comes I might add," he added in a slightly raised voice and the sounds of hurried whispering and chairs squeaking and moving and the clink of dishware being dropped in the sink were heard off camera and both girls voices were heard off camera shouting, "Goodnight, Caroline!" Klaus watched them and smiled triumphantly, but then his eyes settled back on the camera "Goodnight, love…" and the camera went blurry as Klaus moved the camera back around and hit stop.**_

Caroline smiled and sighed. She gazed off into the distance for a moment, then put her plate of pasta and phone down and crossed to where Rebekah's decanter of brandy was, poured herself a glass, then crossed back to the armchair and sipped it as she pressed play again.

It was now December 29th and Caroline was super bummed. She had spent Christmas Skyping her family and friends back in Mystic Falls, which was great, and she even got to talk to Klaus over the phone. He had invited her to join them for Christmas Day, but she remembered him saying that they always got together with his older brothers Finn and Elijah's families and kids, and she didn't want to impose herself on family time. Klaus called her on the way back to his house with the girls asleep in the back seat. It was good to talk to him, but it made her miss him even more, but in a way, she wondered if this was the best thing for them. She was leaving tomorrow and between Klaus's work schedule and him having the girls, it was too difficult to have any alone time. Not that she minded spending time with the girls, but it made her feel a little bad, like if he had them, he should be paying attention to them, and not her.

She was currently Skyping with Bonnie and trying to figure out what to do.

"I just feel bad, Bonnie… I don't want to be selfish…"

"How is wanting to spend time with a great guy you truly care about selfish, Care?"

"When he has two small children and you're going to be leaving?"

"That's even more of a reason to do something about it!"

"Who is that fair to? Not to him… not to the girls… Come on, you have to see the benefits of my rip-the-Band-Aid-off-quick strategy…"

"I don't know, Care… I'll support you in whatever decision you make… I just want you to be happy… and trust me, I haven't seen you like this in a long time and… it's really nice…"

Caroline smiled but made a face at her friend, "You're not even here right now! You're looking at me through a laptop camera lens…"

"I know, I know, you just… I don't know, you just have this aura about you… you're so full of life and you're practically glowing… I mean, it's not like you've become not yourself, but… you were starting to become a shell… a workaholic with nothing and then you go away, you literally travel to another continent, you meet this guy and… I'm starting to see the old Care Bear back… so sue me for being supportive and wanting you to get as much of this guy as possible before you come back…" Bonnie gave her friend a warm smile, "He makes you better… and that makes me happy… and I haven't even met the guy, so the fact that I'm saying this is a pretty big deal…"

Caroline laughed, happy to lighten the conversation. Bonnie's speech had started to give her heart palpitations, and she could feel an esophageal spasm coming on, but Bonnie cracking the joke came at the perfect time.

"I know, man… I wish you could meet him, Bon… he's…" she sighed, not knowing the right word to sum Klaus up, so she simply said, "…the only one of his kind…"

"And a stud it sounds like… how many orgasms did you have the last time you were together?!"

"BONNIE!"

"What?! That is a totally legitimate question to ask, girlfriend to girlfriend…"

"Yeah well," Caroline could feel her face getting bright red, "a lady never kisses and tells…"

"Well when I see a lady, I'll be sure to tell her that…"

"I'm signing off now…"

"Okay! Well just think about what I said! I would have to trade one blonde in for another since you lost your mind abroad…"

"Yeah, you wish… all the tea-bearing British bombshells in the world couldn't replace the one and only Caroline Forbes…"

"Ain't it the truth…" Bonnie chuckled.

"Alright, well… I'll see you soon… give Stefan my love…"

"Duh… later biznatch…"

"Later beyotch…" Caroline blew kisses at her best friend and closed her laptop and put it on the coffee table. She sighed and looked around and thought to herself, _Well you're leaving tomorrow, Caroline… Guess there's no time like the present to start packing, is there? _She stood and stretched and slipped her arms into the sweater that had been draped over the chair and trudged towards the stairs. On her way, she passed by the decanter of brandy, and at first went to pour a single drink, but then on second thought put the topper back in and brought the whole thing and a glass with her. _This is not going to be enough… _she thought sadly to herself. She placed the decanter down on one of Rebekah's bedside tables, and pulled her suitcase out from below the bed and plopped it down on the bed. She flipped it open and stared at the empty suitcase. She scoffed and rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone and opened a text message.

_**I fucking hate packing with a passion. **_

Klaus sat at his desk in his office, his elbows on the table rubbing his eyes. It had been such as stressful couple of days. Christmas Day was lovely, a day he spent entirely with his girls and his family, but he'd been sad that Caroline declined to join them. He understood she probably felt awkward about spending such a personal holiday with his family on the same day of meeting them, so he didn't push it, but the girls hadn't stopped asking him when they were going to see Caroline since Christmas Eve. He hated to disappoint them, so he continuously asked Caroline to drop by the house, but she also declined on that as well. She said he should spend time with the girls while they were still home before they were back in school, and he knew deep down she was probably right, but he couldn't help feeling disappointed and a little selfish just wanting to spend some time with her just for himself.

"Night, boss man…" Madi said, passing by his door.

"Night…" Klaus's muffled voice came from under his hands. It made Madi pause and back pedal and stand in his doorway.

"You okay there, Klaus? I didn't think you were too swamped with work, you turned in your critique the other day, but if you need some help, I can…"

"No, it's not work… I'm fine…" he assured her, but he looked up and she was still in the doorway giving him a disbelieving look. He sighed, knowing he'd been caught. He'd worked with Madi too closely for too long for him to blow her off like that. He should've known better.

"It's just… you remember that girl I had with me the other day?"

"The blonde girl?"

"Yes, her name is Caroline… she's going to be leaving tomorrow and I don't know what to do…"

"Sorry, mate, I'm not great at relationship advice…" she said sympathetically, leaning on his door frame. "Who would you normally talk to in this situation?"

"My sister Rebekah, but she's still in America and I don't really think she's the person to talk to about this right now… well… I'd talk to her or my brother Elijah…"

"Well, there you go!" she said, smiling. He gave her a sad smile and sighed.

"Thanks, Madi…"

"No problem, see you laters…" she said, waving at him and leaving.

Klaus leaned down into his messenger bag and grabbed his phone. He'd been in and out of meetings all day and had just left his phone off in his bag. He turned it on and opened a text to text Elijah when his phone trilled and he saw he had a new message from Caroline. He read it and knew he should respond with some sort of light hearted joke about women and packing, but his heart weighed too heavily to respond to her text. Instead he closed it and opened a new one to Elijah.

_**Brother, I really need your advice. I be to your flat in 20 minutes.**_

He put his jacket on and gathered all his papers, put them in folders and put them in his bag. He grabbed his phone and turned off the lights and locked the door. As he walked through the exit and nodded at the security guard, his phone trilled again.

_**Niklaus, I'm here for you if you need me, just keep it down and don't wake up the kids or else you'll face Katherine's wrath…**_

Klaus smirked and crossed the street quickly, running and jaywalking to make his way to the entrance to the tube.

* * *

When Klaus arrived at Elijah's flat, the kettle was already on and Katherine was getting the teapot ready.

"Katherine, lovely as always…" Klaus said, kissing his sister-in-law on the cheek.

"Yeah, sweet talking isn't going to make up for you staying 'til odd hours of the night…" she said, smirking at her handsome brother-in-law. Klaus grinned, he knew Katherine would give him hell but he didn't care. He knew she wasn't really angry, if she were he wouldn't have stopped by at all. He was bold, not stupid; if the Bulgarian beauty was really mad he would've asked Elijah to come to his place. He was supposed to be picking up the girls from his brother and sister-in-law in any case, but his text let them know he'd be staying longer.

"If you keep it down and you don't wake up Sofia, Nikolas, or Lina, I won't skin you alive…"

"Are my girls down too?"

"Yeah, they tried to stay awake as long as they could, but we put them in the pajamas you left with us and they're sleeping in the sleeping bags in the playroom..." Elijah added, pouring the hot water from the kettle into the tea pot, and brought the tea pot and tea cups to the island counter top in the kitchen. Klaus sighed and sat down at one of the countertop chairs at the island, rubbing his eyes. Katherine and Elijah exchanged glances before Elijah finally spoke.

"So what's troubling you, brother?"

Klaus took a deep breath and looked up and saw his second oldest brother and his wife looking at him with worried looks in their eyes even though their faces didn't show it.

"Is this about that girl you invited to Christmas?" the brunette beauty asked.

Klaus sighed but smirked at her. "Your intuition never fails to surprise me, Katerina…"

Katherine smirked back at Klaus. Katherine had always been a very shrewd, observant woman. Her intellect, intuition and eye for detail had helped her climb the ranks within the Bulgarian government until she met Elijah while in the U.K. on government work. After she met his brother, she gave up her work and career so that they could start a family, but she never lost her astute powers of observation.

"Well I could tell the way you talked about her she was different…"

"How so?"

"Well I haven't seen you talk about a woman that way since… well since Tatia…" Katherine said, a hint of sadness in her voice. Elijah silently reached for his wife and wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her towards him and rubbed her back comfortingly.

The whole soap opera of the Mikaelson brothers' love affair with the Petrova sisters was just a chapter in the Mikaelson clan's sordid family history. Klaus was the one that initially met Katherine, and even though she'd taken a liking to him, he thought she'd be better matched with his brother, so she invited her older sister Tatia on a double date, hoping that Elijah would take a liking to Tatia more. It turned out Klaus had been right though, Katherine was Elijah's match, in every way, but it had taken him a year or so to realize that. During that year, Elijah and Klaus battled for Tatia's attention while Katherine patiently set herself up for Elijah to take notice until he finally did and fell head over heels for the tempestuous, passionate younger sister.

Elijah and Katherine's eldest Sofia was born shortly after Tatia gave birth to Ettie, and their youngest Kalina was born just after Nina was born. After the initial conflict when it came to courtship, the two families were inseparable, that was until Tatia's death. It had affected the whole Mikaelson family, but none more so than Katherine and Klaus. A beloved sister and wife had been lost and the two had bonded over their loss in a sense.

Klaus saw the sad look ghost across his sister-in-law's face but thought about what Ettie had said on Christmas Eve and laughed. Elijah and Katherine looked at him quizzically, wondering where his laughter had suddenly come from.

"I just can't believe you said that… Ettie said on Christmas Eve she could tell I was texting Caroline from how I laughed. She said I laugh differently when I laughing with or at Caroline…"

Katherine exchanged a look with her husband and took a seat at the counter with them. She gave her brother-in-law a knowing look and he looked at her over his tea cup and finally put it back in its saucer.

"What's that face?"

"That face is an aunt realizing that her niece is more like her than she realize…" she said with a proud smile, "Honestly Klaus, who would know you better than us? Or your daughters?"

"She's got a point, brother…" Elijah added simply, sipping from his tea cup.

"But what can I do? My hands are tied…" Klaus said, the same tired aggravation coming back into his voice, "I've tried to see her, but I've been working or had the girls… and I know she loves the girls, but she keeps saying that I should be spending the time with them… she's leaving and they're not…"

"Well we've got the girls, what's stopping you from seeing her now?" Katherine said plainly.

Klaus opened his mouth to respond, but then he realized he didn't have anything to rebut Katherine's question. Elijah smirked, loving how his wife had stumped his brother, pointing out what should've been obvious to Klaus. Klaus simply looked up at the two of them before Elijah smiled and waved his hand at him.

"Go. The girls can sleepover… Call us tomorrow when you're going to pick them up… You've got them for New Year's Eve though, remember? Sage and Finn are taking their kids and ours to Sage's family for New Years while Kat and I go to Madrid…" he squeezed his wife and she swatted at him.

"I hate it when you call me that…" she muttered, although she still had a smile on his face.

"But… she's leaving tomorrow…" Klaus interrupted the couple's little exchange.

"All the more reason to go to her, Niklaus…" Elijah said.

"She has to know how you feel about her… You owe it to her, and to yourself…" Katherine said, patting Klaus's hand. He smiled at her then at his brother, before getting up and crossing to the door, throwing his scarf and coat back on.

"I'll call you tomorrow to pick up the girls," he called over his shoulder.

"Keep your voice down!" Katherine hissed, throwing his gloves at him. He scooped them off the floor with a dimpled grin and dashed out the door. "And you better call us by no later than 3! We're dropping the kids off with Sage and Finn off at 4:30!" She stopped in the doorway as Klaus rushed down the driveway to his car.

"Go get your girl, brother…" Elijah laughed, standing in the doorway, wrapping his arms around his wife, resting his chin on her shoulder. The pair watched as Klaus jumped in his car and was on route to Rebekah's house.

"Look at that stupid, lovesick fool…" Katherine sighed.

"Takes after his brother…" Elijah murmured, brushing her long curly brown hair to the side and kissing her neck. Katherine murmured happily, and turned in her husband's arms and wrapped hers around his neck.

"Well it took you long enough, Mr. Mikaelson…" she murmured, leaning in for a kiss, "I swear after all the things Tatia got over me growing up, if she got you, I would've hanged myself…"

"And I thank my lucky stars that I saw reason…" Elijah murmured as he leaned down and captured her plush, full lips with his own. Katherine's moan was lost in his lips, and when he broke away to pepper kisses down her jaw and neck, she tangled her fingers in his hair.

"You think you could be quiet and not wake up the kids?" she muttered, her hands finding their way up his shirt and trailing over his muscular abdomen.

"You know how I like a challenge… Katerina Constantinova Elisaveta…" he began murmuring, his hands rubbing her lower back underneath her sweater as he sucked on the pulse point on her neck.

"Mmm, I love it when you use my full name…" she groaned, yanking his face up to hers and devouring him with a passionate kiss. Elijah's hands pulled her closer, and he pulled them in the doorway and Katherine reached behind them and pushed the door closed.

* * *

Caroline sighed as she put the last few things in her suitcase and zipped it up and heaved it down onto the floor by the door.

"Well, that's that…" she sighed. Just then, Julie, who had been asleep next to the suitcase on the bed, perked her head up and jumped from the bed and ran down the stairs, barking.

"Julie? What is it?" she called, before following the Cairn Terrier down the stairs. The small dog was standing by the door, and barking and when she was halfway down the stairs, Caroline heard knocking. She knew Klaus had to be home with the girls, so she wondered who could possibly be knocking at this time of night. She opened the door and gasped when she saw the man himself standing on the front porch.

"Hi!" she gasped with a smile, "I thought you had the girls to—" she started, but Klaus took hold of her face and planted his lips on hers silencing her. It was full of passion but it wasn't rushed, as if he was savoring it and committing it to memory. He finally pulled away and gazed at her face. She gazed back at him and saw the look in his eyes and she knew he had to have left the girls with his brother or someone and had given up who knows what else to come and see her. She didn't think, she just reacted on how she felt and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and practically assaulting his mouth with hers. Klaus caught her and wrapped his arms around her as well, holding her tight. They kissed for a while on the porch until he felt her pulling him into the house, and he moved with her, slamming the door closed behind him.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So I hope you guys liked it and are excited for Klaroline smuttiness next chapter! R&R please! :D


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note**: SO HERE IT IS! CHAPTER 16… I'm seriously sad to see this coming to a close… I really am… and it won't be just a Klaroline chapter, I'll have some Mabekah in it too… But without further ado…

* * *

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

Caroline couldn't help the moan that escaped her mouth as she wove her fingers into Klaus's dirty blonde curls. She started to feel the cold nipping at her since she was merely dressed in a long sleeve shirt, jeans and slippers, having taken her sweater off in the bedroom while she was packing. Then he was there, on her—albeit Rebekah's—doorstep, unannounced and she didn't realize how badly she wanted him there until she saw his face. She'd tried to ask how it was possible he was there, but she was quickly silenced as he took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was sweet and simple and when he pulled back, she looked at his face and a moment was all the needed push to make her move; she just reacted and grabbed him.

She pulled him in the house and he quickly caught on, and as she heard the door slam shut, she made quick work of the buttons down the front of his shirt as he pulled his coat off swiftly and tossed it in the general direction of the coat rack. They both kicked off their footwear and Caroline slipped his shirt off and tossed it away, happy to have his smooth muscular torso at her fingertips. Her hands danced across his expansive, muscular chest before wrapping around his back and her lips trailed their way from his own down from his neck and planted hot open mouthed kisses on his chest. Klaus's hands slid down her back and to the curve of her backside. Then he was able to pull their bodies closer together, and Caroline jumped and wrapped her legs around his waist and he effortlessly carried her up to the bedroom.

Caroline gasped as she felt Klaus's arousal against her core, and he quickly smothered her gasp and forced her mouth back to his, one of his hands holding her backside while the other rooted itself in her long golden locks. Before she knew it, he was placing her down on the bed and she felt his hands go to the hem of her shirt, which she gladly raised her hands above her head to assist him in pulling it swiftly over her head. Once he had, she quickly unhooked her bra and flung it across the room and her hands were immediately at the sides of his face and pulling him in for another kiss as she lay down on the bed.

Klaus kissed her passionately but soon peppered kisses along her jaw and down her neck and collarbone before taking a nipple in his mouth, while a hand fondled the other. Caroline's hands took their place back in his messy curls and she moaned and gasped, spurring him on and he continued his ministrations on the other breast. He eventually trailed his kisses down her stomach until he came to the edge of her jeans, and he quickly unbuttoned them and slid them down her slender legs and tossed them onto the floor.

He kissed his way back up her legs until he was back at her stomach and he placed tantalizing kisses below her belly button as he slid her panties down her legs as well. Caroline's head moved back and forth across the pillows, knowing what was to come, and Klaus, quickly but gently spread her legs and placed his mouth on her. She arched her back off of the bed as his hands came around her hips and firmly held her bottom and pulled her closer to him.

First her hands flew to her breasts, caressing them as Klaus pleasured her, but they soon found their way back to their place in his curls and he moved both hands around to force her legs to remain open, since they drew closer and closer together, instinctively trying to take him closer. When he felt her start to grind against his tongue, he inserted two fingers into her and gazed up at her face. She moaned as he began pumping in and out, his thumb stimulating her swollen nub as his other hand moved up to caress her breasts and he continued placing hot kisses to the insides of her thighs. Klaus heard her gasps become higher and louder until she was writhing, her hands holding fistfuls of sheets, and he felt her walls tighten around his fingers and she became slick as her orgasm took her.

He was quickly back to her, kissing her and she clung to him, pressing herself to him and she was frustrated at his dress slacks for keeping them separated. She took him off guard and spun them, pinning him to the bed and sliding his slacks and boxer briefs off in one movement, and they fell to the floor, completely forgotten. She took hold of him and he groaned and barely managed to moan her name as her hand slid up and down his length, the pad of her thumb rubbing the tip.

Without hesitation, she leaned down and took him in her mouth and his head snapped up and he watched her, his mouth agape as his erection disappeared into her mouth again and again. She began swirling her hand up and rotating on whatever she couldn't reach with her mouth and his head fell back to rest on the bed. She soon felt him start to quiver and she released him with a pop, moving her hand up and down his length to lubricate it. He quickly gathered her up into his arms and spun them until he rested on top of her. He kissed down her body until he came up on his knees, hooking a hand around each of her knees and pulling her towards him. He gazed down at her and she gazed back up at him, her bottom lip between her teeth and she nodded at him, her hands reaching for his and lacing their fingers.

Klaus slid into her and he and Caroline both gasped at the sensation of being one, yet again. His hands slid up her thighs to hold her waist in place and her hands reached to caress his abdomen. She squirmed, urging him to continue, and he did, starting a steady pace of thrusting, which Caroline met thrust for thrust. They continued moving until Caroline's cries of pleasure quickened and her walls tightened around him. Klaus groaned, wanting to release put not wanting this to be over, and came down and lightly rested on top of Caroline.

He brought one leg up to rest on his shoulder and they both gasped as he went even deeper and he continued his thrusting. Caroline could feel another orgasm mounting and he suddenly spun her so she was on her side, her one leg still resting against his shoulder while he straddled the other that rested on the bed. It was such a mind-blowing feeling, Caroline moaned and reached and grabbed Klaus's hip with one hand. Her orgasm quickly rushed over her and soon after Klaus followed. Both fell to lie side by side on their backs, out of breath and out of words.

* * *

Rebekah was happy that Matt agreed to take their relationship slow since they'd both been through such a whirlwind during the past few weeks, both separately and together. However, that didn't mean they couldn't partake in a nice make out session while they watched movies in Caroline's den; especially when Matt was such a great kisser.

The first passionate kiss they shared was outside the Grille. Rebekah had just gotten back from seeing _Lincoln_, the Steven Spielberg movie that Alaric had consulted on, with Bonnie and Stefan, and felt like dropping by to see him. Once he had asked her on their first official date at Alaric's gala, he had texted his boss at the Grille and asked to be called if there were any openings of if someone called out so he wouldn't have to put too much of a dent into his savings to buy his plane ticket and luggage. Rebekah had felt so bad at the expenses he had to incur in order travel back with her, but he'd joked and said if she felt bad she could make him a "kept man," once they were in the U.K. For now, he was working himself to the bone. In the meantime, while they were still Stateside and she was glad he at least had a passport.

As she pulled Caroline's car into the parking lot, she spotted Matt beside the side of the building to the back, keeping some employees that were taking a smoke break company. He turned his back to her and she stealthily approached, putting a finger to her lips to tell the employees that were facing her not to let him know she was there, and they played along. She snuck up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes and didn't make a sound.

"Alright, let's see… soft hands… so it has to be a girl… or else these are the softest man hands I've ever felt…" Matt began his guess with a jovial tone, and the other employees laughed and Rebekah did her best to stifle a laugh.

"I can feel your arms lightly touching my shoulders, so you can't be Bonnie, you're much too tall…" he smiled then took a deep breath through his nose.

"And perfume that I'm 85% sure is Burberry…" he smiled, "…so it has to be Beks…" Rebekah released his eyes and he turned around and smiled.

"10 points to Donovan…" he smiled, wrapping his arms around Rebekah's waist and pecked her lips.

"8 points…" Rebekah corrected and Matt quirked an eyebrow, and she added, "It's Calvin Klein, not Burberry…"

"Dammit!" Matt cursed himself and his coworkers laughed at the sight before them, and then proceeded in and put out their cigarettes and walked back inside. "Should've known the British judge would be the hardest…"

"Attention to detail is everything, young man…" Rebekah jokingly scolded him.

"Well how will I ever make up the points?" Matt asked.

"Hmm… I'll think of something…" she smirked and Matt smiled back, leaning in and capturing her lips again. Rebekah's hands moved from his chest to slide around and hold the back of his neck and his hands pressed against her lower back and pulled her towards him. She felt his tongue caress her lips, asking for permission to deepen the kiss and she allowed it. And .02 seconds later, she was sure it was the best decision she'd ever made in her life (you know, besides deciding to switch houses with Caroline in the first place). Matt's tongue danced with hers and he gently backed her up until she felt the brick wall of the side of the Grill against her jacket. She moaned and soon his mouth trailed kisses along her jawline and up to nibble on her ear and her hands gripped his biceps tightly. She felt his hands descend and smoothly cover her jean clad backside, and in return she slid her hands up and under his jacket and shirt to caress his strong, muscular back. Matt's mouth quickly moved back to hers and continued combating hers, and his hands unabashedly grabbed and palmed her ass. Rebekah felt as if she were losing her mind, feeling his hands on her, feeling his smooth, muscular flesh and feeling his body pressed against hers. She finally gasped and put her hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

"What's my name again?" she asked, and Matt laughed.

"I was just going to ask you the same thing…" he murmured, resting his forehead against hers.

The attraction and chemistry was undeniable, and Rebekah loved how cheesy and corny Matt was at times. They were sitting on his couch watching _Elf _and soon Buddy and Jovie were ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Rebekah loved this movie, she'd taken Klaus's girls to see it when it came out, and she thought it was one of the most adorable movies she'd ever seen. The duo ice skated around the rink hand in hand, and she knew one of her favorite parts was about to happen. She loved how Buddy sweetly and innocently would kiss her cheek, not assuming to go any further just for Jovie to insist on kissing him full on. Just as she watched Buddy lean down, she felt a peck on her cheek and she turned her shocked face to Matt, who was, as expected, just grinning at her like a fool. She immediately knew what he was doing.

"Sorry," Matt and Buddy said in unison.

"You missed," Rebekah and Jovie said.

"What do you mean I missed?" Matt and Buddy said, Matt a little more incredulously and dramatically than Buddy.

"You missed," Rebekah and Jovie repeated, and Rebekah suddenly turned and climbed on top of Matt, straddling him, and planted a sweet but passionate kiss on his lips. The fact that she'd jumped on top of him took him completely by surprise, and she felt his hands slowly settle on her waist as she kissed him. It took everything in her to finally break away and she looked down and gazed at him through her eyelashes. She smiled seeing that Matt's eyes were still closed from kissing her, but they slowly opened and she gave him one of those cheeky grins and he smiled up at her and rubbed his thumb against her cheek before gently tucking a fallen strand of silky blonde hair behind her ear before reaching up.

"Jovie's got nothing on my Bekah," he murmured, placing a slow and sweet kiss to her lips. Rebekah smiled into the kiss, loving how he possessively claimed her while using her nickname.

* * *

Klaus and Caroline gasped, still coming down from the high of their romp after Klaus showed up on her doorstep. A few minutes had passed when Klaus finally spoke, the first of the two to get a grip on the English language again.

"So… you're totally great…" he gasped, hoping that once and for all Caroline had banished out of her mind that she was, as her moronic ex called her, "bad at sex."

"Yeah… this is a bitch…" she groaned, thinking of how they had completely exceeded complicated and become… whatever was worse than complicated.

Klaus's head turned towards Caroline, confused at her less than affectionate response, but once he caught her glancing at her suitcase by the door, the one that he had accidentally knocked over as he carried her into the room, and saw the worried look on her face, he knew what she was worried about. He leaned down and pulled the blanket, which had at some point during their tumble been pushed down to the end of the bed in a messy pile, and covered them, making sure Caroline was covered before he covered himself.

"Well you must travel all the time, for work, right?" he asked, gathering pillows up for him to prop up on and he turned on his side to discuss options with her.

"Not a lot. But to London? Never…" she muttered unhappily.

"New York?"

Caroline made a face, "Eh... that's easier… Do you travel to New York a lot?"

"No, not at all…" he said lightly, making Caroline chuckle but that chuckle soon turned into a groan. Both of them sighed.

"Long distance relationships _can_ work…they can!" Klaus answered, seeing the dubious look on Caroline's face.

"Mmhmm, oh really?" she asked haughtily, quirking an eyebrow, "I can't make one work, not even when the person lives in the same house as me…"

"So, this is a good solution for you then!" Klaus joked, and Caroline laughed and reached over and gently caressed the side of Klaus's face and his five o'clock shadow with her fingertips. Klaus blinked, giving Caroline a sad, close lipped, although dimpled smiled.

"Oh man…" Caroline murmured, somewhere between a whisper and a groan. Why had the universe thrown her this curve ball? She only ever expected to get away from home and all of its drama and have a relaxing vacation. Then, out of nowhere, this handsome, sweet, funny, sexy, thoughtful, caring, warm, incredible sex god falls from the sky and somehow forged a way into her life and, she daresay, into her heart… scarily enough.

Caroline took a deep breath and suddenly sat up, carefully making sure that she clutched a sheet to her chest to cover her breasts. She wanted Klaus to stay focused, and if he didn't stay focused she knew she wouldn't either. She pulled and tugged and wrapped the sheet as much around her as possible, tucked her hair behind both ears and released her breath.

"Okay… Let's just say… we make this happen," Caroline started, gesturing with both hands. "We each commit to flying back and forth as much as we can…"

"Yes!" Klaus happily interjected, his hand moving to rest on Caroline's thigh, on top of the comforter. "It's doable… definitely…"

"Then let's say in six months… we hit a wall…" Caroline continued, "Like, I can't constantly be away from work in Virginia and the girls can't deal with you leaving so often, since you obviously can't always bring them with you, especially once school starts again… And so we start to feel tension, we know this isn't going to work so we start fighting because we don't know what else to do… And then," Caroline sighed, "after a very long and tearful," she paused to make a face at him, "at your end, phone call…" Klaus made a face back at her at the mention of him crying and Caroline continued, "...we just… say good-bye… that's it… seriously, that'll be it… we'll never bump into each other, and then what's left? Two completely _miserable_ people feeling totally devastated and hurt…" She took a deep breath as her long rambling speech concluded.

Klaus still lay next to her, watching her silently, not knowing how to respond or what to say. Caroline looked at his face with an indecipherable expression and brought a hand to cover her forehead and she tried to make sense of the logic that was coursing through her brain and come up with another option, good or bad.

"Or…" she started.

"Thank you!" Klaus sighed and smiled, happy that she wasn't settling on the outcome of the sad and pragmatic likelihood she had just given him. He sat up to peck her on the lips, then he pulled back but his smiled soon disappeared. He had expected to see a happy face after he kissed her, but instead he saw agony in her eyes and sadness on her face.

"Or, we should just realize and accept that what we've had these past few weeks has been perfect… and… maybe it won't get better than this… the way it is now… and maybe we're trying to figure this out because it makes us feel so good to feel this way, and maybe the fact that I'm leaving in next couple of hours makes this far more exciting than it might actually be…" she finished, looking up at him through her eyelashes. Klaus gazed at her for a moment before shaking his head slightly, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"You are seriously one of the strangest and most depressing girls I've ever met, Caroline Forbes."

Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes and flopped back onto the pillows with a groan.

"Ugh… I know… I'm sorry…" she said self-consciously, pulling the comforter over her face.

"I have another scenario for you…" he said leaning down, smiling at the form of Caroline's face, covered with comforter.

"Good…" came Caroline's voice, muffled through the blanket. Klaus stared at the comforter for a moment before gently peeling the blanket away to reveal Caroline's face, a beautiful shading of pink flushing her cheeks in her embarrassment. He gazed down at her, her messy golden locks fanning out around her on the pillow. Her eyes were closed and he could see her hand pressed to her sternum, an esophageal spasm on the way, no doubt.

"I am in love with you," Klaus murmured gently. Silence hung in the air between them momentarily before Caroline's eyes snapped open and took in the warm and loving expression on Klaus's face. Instead of happiness or excitement at his declaration, Klaus saw shock painted all over her face, and he cleared his throat and began to elaborate.

"I'm sorry for the blunt delivery… But as problematical as this may be…" he took a deep breath, his brother's and sister-in-law's supportive words ringing in his ears, "…but… I am in love… with you…" Caroline's eyes glanced around his face, taking in his soft but unwavering expression and warmth in his tone and she felt the familiar knots form in her stomach.

"And I'm not feeling this because you're leaving, and I'm not because it feels good to feel this way, which, by the way it does," he added, his eyebrows raising, "or did, until you rambled off like that just now," his hand went and pinched the bridge of his nose as it did in his office only a few hours ago, and he continued, "I can't figure out the mathematics or logic of this, I just _know_… I love you…" he laughed lightly at himself, "I can't believe how many times I'm saying it… and I never thought I'd ever, in a million years, feel this way again, but I do, and that's pretty incredible…" he sighed and slowly took Caroline's hand, which had been pressed to her sternum, in his and continued quietly, "…and I know I come with a package deal… three for the price of one… and my package, in the light of day, may not be all that great, but I just…" he cast his eyes away from her and let out an aggravated sigh and dragged his other hand through his hair, then he began again, his voice strong and confident, "I _finally_ know what I want, and that in itself is a miracle," he looked back up at her face with a small dimpled smile, "And what I want… is you."

He gazed at her face adoringly, awaiting a response, and Caroline looked down at their hands, which had come to rest on top of the comforter, and Klaus had absentmindedly played with her fingers as he'd talked, but when he finished, he raised it up and turned her hand, exposing her wrist and placing a kiss to it. Caroline could feel the esophageal spasm coming and remained silent, taking deep, quiet breaths. His words playing over in her mind. When she finally brought her eyes back up to his, she saw him waiting, holding his smile and his eyes begging and pleading for her to reply. She searched for the words as she gazed back at him.

"I wasn't expecting an 'I love you'…" she finally murmured, her voice barely a whisper. Klaus's smile wilted and he cast his eyes down at her hand, which he still held firmly in his and looked back up at her. Caroline watched him and when he looked back up at her, she sighed quietly.

"Can you please not look at me like that," she said, sitting up and scooting forward, grasping his hand, "…I'm just… trying to find the right thing to say…" Klaus smirked sadly and looked back down at their hands.

"I think… if the obvious response doesn't immediately come to you, then…" his sarcastic and mocking voice creeping in, but when he looked up and saw her watching him sadly and apologetically, he shook his head with a sad smirk and released her hand and flopped down on the pillows beside her, "…we can just… talk about something else…" he added dismissively. He heard her scoff and knew she'd rolled her eyes at him, and he covered his eyes embarrassedly, and added, "…You know like, what a complete _ass_ I am…"

Caroline smiled sadly at him, giving him a knowing and understanding look. She moved the comforter so she could rest on top of the still naked Klaus, with her still swaddled in the sheet. She rested on top of him, chest to chest, her forearms resting gently on his torso and gazed down on him.

"You know I distinctly remember," he continued, his tone trying to be sarcastic and funny, "You telling me that you weren't going to fall in love with me. You've got to pay better attention next time, Klaus." he said with self-pity, and Caroline finally placed a finger over his lips to silence him and once he stopped, she held his face gently with both hands and smiled, shaking her head.

"I've never met a guy who talks as much as me." she laughed softly and Klaus smirked and murmured through his nose while he gazed up at her with the same warm eyes.

"So, just for now…" Caroline whispered, leaning forward, their noses touching, "…be quiet… please…" She looked back into his warm eyes and tried to convey how much she cared for him. She'd told him she didn't know if she even fell in love at all, and hated that she'd left him out to dry, bearing his heart and soul after all the heartbreak he'd been through in his life. He gazed back into her eyes silently, and she could make out were the hints of sadness and grief. And that's when she realized: she was another person in his life he would lose, just like Henrik, just like Tatia.

She hated herself for putting him in this situation, and she didn't know how to make it right, so she acted selfishly and slowly and gently pressed her lips to his. She felt him sigh into the kiss and her fingers made their way back into his messy curls, and she hoped that even though she lacked the words to tell him how she felt, that she could at least show him how much he meant to her. Klaus moved his hands, which had politely rested on her waist, up her sides to caress her back, pulling her to him.

As Caroline's hands moved down from his hair to his face again and then to his neck, Klaus gently slid her sheet down until they were pressed together, skin on skin, melding into one. This time, they took it slow and made love agonizingly and heartbreakingly slow. They both wanted it to be the best, to be meaningful, and to never end. Klaus painstakingly worshipped her body, slowly taking his time and committing the feel of her soft, smooth skin to memory.

He turned his face away for a moment, hiding the tears that he felt prickling at his eyes from Caroline. He didn't want her to remember him crying, a sad and broken man, widowed too young and left alone with two children by himself. He knew he had the girls, but Klaus couldn't help how horribly alone he felt all the time. The loneliness didn't just disappear when he was with Caroline. He felt more of himself with her than he had in years, and it was a feeling he was happy to have back. But as he kissed her shoulder, he knew it was slipping through his fingers and he was completely helpless to stop it.

They made love again and again, hoping it would never end, but soon they couldn't help the sleepiness that overcame them. Klaus forced his eyes to stay open as long as he could, gazing at Caroline's face, but soon Caroline watched his eyes slide shut and heard his even breathing. She watched his face for a moment. She turned and faced away from him, not wanting him to see her distressed face should he wake up. She felt his hand slowly wrap around her and pull her body closer to his. As she felt herself slip into deep sleep, she happily tucked herself into his embrace and fell asleep with her hand over top of the one around her body.

* * *

**Author's Note**: First off, I have to give a big shout out to the amazing and imcomparable C.C. for being AN AMAZING BETA. I should've asked for one earlier, especially knowing the amazing notes and help I'd get from her! 3 If you're not following her on Tumblr, shame on you, you really should! Find her at _** .com**_!

Secondly, I'm sorry if it was a little cheesy, especially the bit with Matt and Rebekah, I just love them, to me their cuteness is akin to not just Kate Winslet and Jack Black in The Holiday, but Buddy and Jovie in Elf… Their relationship is so innocent and unassuming, they really truly became great friends while he was still with Jules, and Matt would never cheat on her, nor would Rebekah ever be the other woman after what she's been through…

And I'm sorry if the dialogue between Caroline and Klaus (or the Mabekah dialogue, as my Beta extraordinaire pointed out)was too verbatim to the dialogue of the movie; I tried to take the movie dialogue and shape it and fit it to them as much as possible. Also we know more background about Klaus and Caroline than we knew about Amanda and Graham in the movie just because we know their personalities from the show, so I hoped that'd help make the post-coital Klaroline scene more genuine! Plus, come on, you know would pull some cute shit like that while watching _Elf_… :)

Thirdly, I messaged some people and some got back to me so I made a review poster for this fic, I got all teary eyed and choked up going back and reading through all the reviews this story has received thus far, and I thank you guys soooo much! You can see it on my tumblr page at:_**(slash)post(slash)39460204670(slash)taking-a-chance-a-little-blonde-distraction**_

Please R&R and let me know your thoughts! As you can see, I read each and ever syllable you post, either as a review or a PM, so let me know what you thought of the chapter! So sad to wrap this story but so excited for the epilogue!

**xo a-little-blonde-distraction**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: **You guys, omg how did this happen?! One second I was rewatching one of my all-time favorite movies, then I was suddenly writing a drabble and now I'm on Chapter 17 of a fanfic with over 100,000 words, 100 reviews, nearly 130 follows and nearly 75 favorites... I never expected anything from anyone, and you guys have totally made my life, reading this fanfic... Writing this fic was one of the best decisions I've ever made! I love you all, thank you so much for supporting me and this story!

BUT NEVER FEAR! Even when you think it's over, IT'S NOT! Chapter 18 will most likely be in an epilogue fashion and be super long! ;) Okay, I'll stop blabbing and just get ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty. Or maybe Rip Van Winkle is more appropriate."

Caroline groaned grumpily at the voice that joked with her as it tried to gently wake her up.

"Come on, I have coffee," Klaus said enticingly, trying to wake her up. She obliged him by opening a single eye and peering at him groggily. He was wearing the same rumpled clothes from last night and had a big smile on his face. "And breakfast," he added, his dimpled grin becoming even more pronounced. He knew she'd never be able to resist a meal. Caroline closed her eyes again and stretched, letting out a groan.

"Hmm, when I fell asleep, I didn't realize I fell asleep in Chez Klaus," she murmured as she sat up, her back against the headboard. She took care to cover her still naked form with a sheet.

"Hey, at least one of us possesses the ability to cook something other than garlic bread and pie."

"Ouch, _tres_ harsh," Caroline said, pretending to wince. Klaus smirked as he set a tray down in her lap. "Wow, look at this smorgasbord!" The plate was artfully composed of a hearty slice of French toast with a side of scrambled eggs and slices of apple.

"Well I figured you should have something filling, but then I realized you should probably have some protein, and I know you like apples so."

"Aren't you joining me?"

"If you'd like."

"Duh! Pull up a blanket, my good sir," Caroline joked, patting the space beside her. Klaus smiled.

"Okay, let me go scrounge up the left overs," he said, turning to go back down to the kitchen. He was only gone a few minutes, but it was long enough for Caroline to be alone with her thoughts. She looked down at the adorable plate that Klaus had even decorated with a few sprigs of mint leaves from the spice plants in Rebekah's window sill and her hand flew to her chest and pressed to her sternum. She felt the esophageal spasm coming and it didn't help that memories of the previous night started flooding her mind.

_Long distance relationships __**can**__ work… they can!_

_I am in love with you._

_I can't figure out the mathematics or logic of this, I just __**know**__..._

_I know I come with a package deal... three for the price of one..._

_What I want is you..._

Caroline guiltily took another bite of the French toast, cursing its deliciousness in her head. "_The guy tells me he loves me, I don't reciprocate, he makes sweet and glorious love to me, then wakes up and cooks me breakfast. A million girls would kill to find a guy like this and I'm- I'm just leaving him behind. God, I am the worst. Lower than low, Caroline, lower than low." _Just then Klaus reappeared in the doorway, a plate full of a mountain of French toast and eggs in his hand.

"Sorry I took so long, I figured I should use up the left over ingredients, so I have some more French toast if you want!" he said amicably, crossing to sit next to her in the bed against the headboard.

"_Unbelievable. I shot you down and you're worried about making extra French toast?!_" Caroline thought to herself, watching him disbelievingly. When she didn't respond, Klaus looked up and saw her hand on her chest.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, his forehead wrinkling as his eyebrows came together. Caroline took a deep breath, not sure what to tell him.

"This is... so amazing, Klaus, " she finally managed, and she cast her eyes down to her plate and pushed some eggs around with her fork. "Thank you."

"Hey," Klaus said, gently taking hold of her chin and forcing her to look up and in his eyes. "It was my pleasure." Caroline gave him a small smile and turned back to take a bite of French toast for good measure. They ate mostly in silence, and when they were done, Klaus took their dishes and crossed to take them back to the kitchen.

"So I'll um, get the kitchen in order, and you can shower. You said your flight leaves at-"

"10:45," Caroline finished for him. They both stood there in uncomfortable silence before Klaus finally broke it.

"Right, okay, well..." he said awkwardly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other before finally turning and descending the stairs. Caroline watched him leave and unhappily trudged to the bathroom. As she stood under the fall of water, she couldn't help thinking about how the last time Klaus was in the house, he was in that very bathroom with her. She shook her head to keep from remembering their encounter and how amazing it had been. She took her time and showered and tried to shake off the ominous feeling she had, like she was walking to the gallows with the noose in sight.

* * *

"No, Matt, this way!"

"Oh, whoops! Sorry! I thought you said 'here' not 'there'!" Matt blushed. He turned, hurrying to keep up with Rebekah, who was, compared to him, an expert world traveler. They had eaten a late lunch before making their way to the security check point to get on their 6:15 PM flight to the U.K. and Rebekah couldn't help but giggle at how Matt reacted to the airport.

"Seriously Matt, it's just an airport, not Oz."

"Yeah well, I've never been in an airport, so for all I know this could be Oz!" Matt answered back, trying to kick Rebekah but she dodged his attack. "And besides, I could get lost in a paper bag, so don't judge me."

"Don't worry. I've got this." Rebekah gave him a supportive smile and held out a hand, which Matt took, but only to pull her closer to wrap an arm around her waist. Rebekah slid her hand into the back pocket of his jeans and laughed. "Although don't blame me when they cavity search you for wearing jeans with metal studs."

"Not all of us live in yoga pants, there, Yogi." Matt replied, smirking at the blonde who had a comfy, metal-less outfit on with TOMS and her hair up in a ponytail.

"Maybe you should make an investment then." she quirked an eyebrow at him and he made a face and laughed exaggeratedly before leaning in to nuzzle her neck with a growl. She laughed as she felt him kiss the skin where her neck met her shoulder and nip it lightly, and they suddenly heard a throat clear behind them. They glanced back and saw a middle-aged man with young kids beside him waiting behind them in the line to go through the checkpoint and Matt and Rebekah tried to stifle their laughter.

"Sorry," he said to the man, then looked down at the kids, who looked to be about Ettie's age, Rebekah guessed. "I was just checking her pulse. She gets really nervous on planes, so she has to watch her blood pressure. She's lucky she has me here to, you know, check her pulse." Rebekah rolled her eyes and finally laughed and Matt nodded to the dad respectfully again before turning back around. "Worst cover story I've ever devised."

"No, _really_? Well who's going to check my blood pressure now?" Rebekah said, faking horror.

"Oh, you want high blood pressure, I'll give you high blood pressure," Matt said, going to tickle Rebekah. She immediately squealed and started fighting him off before another throat clearing silenced them.

"Sorry," they both muttered, not bothering to look back at the dad again.

Once they were through security, they made their way to their gate and didn't have to wait in the terminal more than a minute before the stewardess began calling their section to be seated on the plane. They made their way to their seats and Matt stowed their carry-ons in the overhead bins and sat down next to Rebekah.

"Wow, look at this. And this. _Oh, _what does this do?" Matt murmured, poking and touching each and every button and gizmo within reach and Rebekah laughed.

"What are you, like 7? Cool it there, Inspector Gadget." She chuckled, grabbing his hands and forcing them back into his lap. Just then she heard her phone beep, alerting her that she had a text and she rummaged around in her purse to retrieve it.

"Ma'am, just so you know, you're going to have to turn that off in a few minutes once we have everyone boarded." A passing stewardess smiled kindly at them.

"Of course, no worries!" Rebekah smiled back before opening her inbox and gasping.

"What? What is it?" Matt asked, watching her face.

"It's a video message from Bonnie!" she smiled excitedly and pushed the play button, turning her volume down so she and Matt could hear without bothering other people.

"_Hey Beks! Hey Matt, I'm sure you're there with Beks watching this too! I'm here with Stefan and we just wanted to say, 'Bon Voyage!' and 'We'll miss you!' Bonnie smiled before Stefan appeared on screen with a smile, 'Godspeed, you two. Have a safe flight and a Happy New Year!' and then Bonnie was alone on screen again and smiling. 'Gosh I already miss you guys, but I know you'll take care of one another. Have a Happy New Year, guys, and I expect a Skype date very soon!' she blew kisses at the camera before it turned back to Stefan, who waved and the video ended._

"Ohhhh!" Rebekah squealed. "That was so sweet!" She kept pushing buttons on her phone and Matt chuckled.

"What are you doing?" he asked, peering over to look at her screen.

"I'm texting her back before I have to turn my phone off, " she said, suddenly holding up the phone, the camera on and showing their face on the screen. "Let's send her a picture with it!"

"Yes, ma'am." Matt smiled, scooting closer to Rebekah and pressing his cheek to hers.

"Ready?" Rebekah started. "One, two, three," she said, clicking the shutter button.

* * *

Bonnie's phone buzzed and lit up on the table between her and Stefan, and she quickly snatched it up and peered at the screen.

"Is it Bekah? Or did she have to turn her phone off already for the flight?" Stefan asked, taking a sip from his glass of bourbon.

"It's from Beks!" Bonnie replied happily, opening the text and she froze suddenly and smiled. "Awwww."

"What?" Stefan said and Bonnie turned the screen around to face him and Stefan took in the picture on the screen and grinned. "Well isn't that just made for a Hallmark card," as he looked at the photo of Rebekah smiling at the camera and Matt turned and kissing her cheek.

Bonnie turned the phone back to herself and read Rebekah's message. "She says, 'The wanker turned at the last minute and refused to take a nice normal picture. Love you and miss you already, Bon! Give Stefan my love too!'" She sighed happily then suddenly picked up her martini glass.

"To Bekah and Matt," she said proudly. Stefan grinned at his friend before picking up his glass and clinking it to hers.

"To Bekah and Matt."

* * *

Klaus shook his hands in the sink, flinging the last bits of water that was still on his hands from washing the pans and dishes from breakfast. He didn't want to just leave things in the dishwasher, so he washed dishes while Caroline showered. It gave him some alone time to think. This morning was not going as well as he'd hoped. Then again, it could only go so well considering she was leaving within the next few hours.

He'd woken up first and suddenly had the idea to cook her breakfast. He knew it was silly, hoping food might change her mind and convince her to stay. But then again, he figured he simply asked her to meet him at the pub the morning after they met and she changed her flight _again_ to meet him and stay. So maybe breakfast was worth a shot, and it didn't hurt to try!

He brought it up and woke her up, internally laughing at how grumpy and ornery she was when she woke up. But he knew she couldn't resist food and coffee, and when she asked him to eat with her, it made him smile. He hadn't even thought of eating himself, he could typically go really long periods of time either at work or in his studio, but her asking him to eat with her was a pleasant surprise. But when he came back upstairs, her mood had seemingly shifted and she seemed more distant.

When she looked down at her food and thanked him for the food, he immediately knew what caused her mood to change: she felt guilty about last night. Hopefully not about the sex, because once again it was the best he'd ever had, and she seemed to enjoy it as well. More than likely her guilt was about not saying, "I love you" back to him. He saw the guilt on her face after she'd commented on how unexpected his confession was and even though he didn't regret saying it, he regretted building his hopes up that she'd say the same. He hoped breakfast would make up for that, but when he saw her face he knew she still felt guilty, and he wanted to make sure she knew he did it for her happily.

As he was washing dishes, he was debating back and forth with himself of how to address things with Caroline. He wanted so much for her to stay, but after her hypothesizing what would happen in their relationship last night she probably wouldn't stay; especially not if she couldn't even fathom saying "I love you" back to him.

"_It's been 2 weeks, you tosser. Stop setting such high expectations for the poor girl,_" he thought to himself, frustrated. "_Just because she's not a total lovesick idiot like you..._"

Just then, he heard halted footsteps descending the stairs and he turned and saw Caroline struggle to not tumble down the stairs with her huge suitcase. He rushed towards her and grabbed it before something unfortunate happened.

"Here, let me help you with that," he said, placing it on the floor beside the door.

"Thanks," Caroline responded quietly. Neither spoke for a moment. Caroline sighed and crossed to get another cup of coffee. They stood in the kitchen in silence for a while before Klaus cleared his throat.

"So, you're leaving." he said simply.

"Yep," Caroline answered.

"Do you need a ride to the airport or-?" Klaus started to ask politely. He'd hate to be the one to bring her closer to leaving him, but it was the right thing to do and to offer.

"Oh, no. No. Thank you. A chauffeured car should be here any minute," she replied, smiling politely.

"Oh, okay," Klaus said, shoving his hands in his pockets. They stood again in silence and then they suddenly they spoke at the same time.

"Listen, Klaus-"

"Caroline, I-"

They both blushed and replied, in unison, "You first..." then laughed at how alike their minds worked and Klaus quickly nodded and gestured with his hand to her.

"No, really, please," he insisted, and Caroline took a deep breath and looked him square in the face.

"Klaus," she started, her voice wavering slightly, but her tone became more and more confident as she spoke, "I'm sorry for how last night unfolded. I was being completely and 100% honest with you when I said that I don't think I fall in love, at least not like everyone else seems to. And I don't want to patronize you and say, 'I really appreciate your sentiment,' because I'm honest with you, you know that." She raised her eyebrows at him, to tell him she was serious, and silently listened and she continued.

"I've only known you for two weeks, but you've meant more to me than any man I've ever known," she said to him, her passionate tone and expression convincing him of her sincerity. "I don't want this to end, I want to keep in touch and I want us to make the rules," she sighed, and waited for him to respond. He considered her for a moment before he leaned back onto the counter and looked back up at her.

"Thank you for your honesty," he started and gave her a small smile, "You have no idea how much that assuages my concerns and I would be more than happy to work on this with you." He righted himself and strode over to Caroline and took her hand and kissed her wrist and gave her a dimpled smile. "You're worth it."

Caroline let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding in and smiled at him as her head dropped and she rested her forehead on his chest in relief. She took a breath and looked back up at him, appreciation and fondness shining in her eyes.

"Thank you," she said quietly, smiling at him. They suddenly heard a knock at the door and Klaus hesitantly dropped her hand so that she could go and answer it. It was the chauffeur and he amicably nodded at both of them before Caroline instructed him to bring her luggage to the car. She turned back to Klaus, her tone all business.

"Um, so are you going to be here for a while? I had planned on waking up early and doing laundry before I left but…"

"Oh, no, don't worry. I'll do the sheets," Klaus said, chuckling a little at the thought of leaving them. Rebekah would kill him, bring him back to life then kill him again if she knew their dirty sheets were still on her bed. She'd probably give him hell just for dirtying her sheets in the first place. Caroline chuckled uncomfortably with him, because she hated being unprepared _and_ leaving loose ends, but she was under a time crunch.

"Okay, great." She crossed to the coat rack, slipped on her coat and turned smiling as she saw Klaus waiting to walk her out. She rummaged around in her purse, retrieved Rebekah's keys and brandishing them out for him to see before putting them on the entrance table. He slipped on his shoes quickly and walked with her out to the porch, and closed the front door behind him. They stood on the porch and Caroline took a deep breath and took charge of the conversation, as she usually did.

"Okay, so we're not going to make a bigger deal of this than it already is."

"No we're not." Klaus nodded.

"It's not like we're never going to speak or email or Skype or..." Caroline couldn't help but start to fidget with the hem of her sleeve as she began to ramble.

"'We make the rules,'" he cut her off, quoting her earlier remark and smiled. She looked back up at him and saw that same knee-weakening tender face he gave her the night they met and ever since. She smiled up at him through her eyelashes but found her hand suddenly playing with the buttons on his shirt. She became fixated on his chest, but she knew the chauffeur was waiting and she had to go.

"So, now... I'm going to kiss you for the millionth time," she started slowly, and looked back up at him. "And say, 'Be seeing you.'" She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her heart that was thumping wildly in her chest. Klaus simply smirked and tilted his head down, regarding her and she quickly leaned in and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and planted her lips on his.

It was the most comfortable kiss they'd shared so far, and both slowly caressed the other, savoring the embrace and making a memory of it. Klaus's hands found their way to Caroline's waist and pulled her closer, wishing he didn't have to let go. He poured his heart into his kiss, fearing it would be the last one. They finally pulled away from each other and their eyes slowly slid open to regard the other. Caroline made the same adorably confused face she did after Klaus kissed her the second time in the living room and sighed and finally said, "Be seeing you."

Klaus took a deep breath and closed his eyes and touched his forehead to hers. He caught a whiff of her scent, her special scent and his mind flew in to a frenzy. This was it; it was now or never. He had to convince her to stay. He couldn't let her leave. He pulled his head up and opened his eyes and his breath caught as he looked at her. She was so stunning, and she'd never realize how beautiful she truly is to him. He could never convince her to stay. She had a life in Virginia and a house and a job. He knew he had to let her go; it wasn't fair to her to make her stay. He couldn't ask that of her. He couldn't bear the thought of her being unhappy or anything bad happening to her.

Caroline watched his heavy expression, waiting for him to say something, anything. She felt one of his hands leave her waist and saw it come up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before turning and the back stroking her cheek.

"Take care of yourself," he said simply and quietly. Caroline felt a lump in her throat as she watched his expression, not unlike the one he had as he told her she was lovely after her first night together. They didn't do that; say good-bye. This was how they said good-bye, and knowing that there was a seat on an international flight waiting for her made it easier to say it like this.

She gave him a sad smile and nodded, squeezing his hands before tearing herself away from him. Klaus held onto her hand for as long as he could and he turned and watched her walk down the path way, turn back to him with a smile as she closed the gate. He gave her a small wave, which she returned and then got into the black car and drove away. He stood where he was, watching until the back of the car was completely out of sight before turning and going back into the house.

He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do until Caroline's final request rang in his ears and he slowly made his way upstairs and stripped the bedding and carried the bundle back down the stairs. He crossed to the nook with folding doors that hid Rebekah's washer and dryer and opened the lid of the washer but froze. He tried to put them in but he couldn't move. There it was: her scent. It clung to the sheets and it clung to the house, and he couldn't think straight. He looked down and saw the fabric gathered in his arms was quivering and he realized his arms were shaking. He suddenly spun on his heel and marched back into the kitchen, planting the bundle on the table and grabbing his cell phone off the counter where he left it.

His fingers trembled and he quickly pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" the voice suddenly came on the other end.

"Katherine?" Klaus said, his grip on his phone turning his knuckles white.

"Klaus, what is it?" she replied, sensing the slightly off quality in his voice.

"She's gone." Klaus crumbled the moment the words left his lips and he fell to the floor and pushed himself up to sit against the cabinets. He began hyperventilating and held his head in his free hand.

"Oh Klaus." Katherine's voice was quiet and tender, and Klaus heard her muffled voice, as if she'd pressed the phone lightly to her shirt, call, "ELIJAH PICK UP THE OTHER PHONE, **RIGHT NOW**!" Her voice became clearer again, "What happened Klaus? Talk to me."

"I-I told her..." Klaus forced out, in between sobs, "That I-I love her. I love her, Kat. I told her and she-she didn't say it. I... lost-I lost _her_."

"Klaus, honey, you're going to be fine. This isn't over, you have to-" Katherine talked to him and the phone suddenly clicked.

"Hello?" Elijah's voice came on the line.

"Elijah, Caroline left." Katherine said quickly and Elijah sighed as he heard Klaus's fast breathing on the other end.

"Oh, god. Niklaus, I'm so sorry... But this isn't over, brother."

"That's what I told him, " Katherine added, "I'm sure you'll see her soon, as long as that's what you both want. This isn't over, Klaus, don't give up."

"I couldn't…I couldn't ask her to stay," Klaus continued, his pace slowly returning to normal but the tears flowed freely and forcefully, "She has a life, a house, she couldn't stay. I couldn't make her even though I wanted to." The slight edge in his voice was anger directed not at Caroline, Katherine or Elijah, but rather at himself

"You'll work it out, Niklaus, I know you will," Elijah replied confidently and Katherine murmured in agreement.

"It's the 21st century, Klaus, you'll call and Skype and you two will make it work. If it's meant to be it will be, trust that."

"I just have this _feeling_, in my gut, that if she gets on that plane, I'll never see her again..." he managed to get out and he forced himself to get up off of the floor. He walked out of the kitchen and into the mudroom that led to the back door of the cottage and let his forehead rest against the cold glass of the door.

"Then you should go after her!" Katherine's voice was clear and resounding, "Go to the airport and stop her! Don't let her get away, Klaus."

"But what if—" Klaus started to speak but suddenly froze.

"Klaus?"

"Niklaus? What's wrong?" Katherine and Elijah's worried voices came from the other end of the line and they were met with silence.

* * *

Caroline sat in the backseat of the sleek black town car and stared aimlessly out the window, her chin resting in her hand as her elbow propped up on the door handle.

"Miss?"

"What?" Caroline suddenly snapped her attention to the driver, who was peering at her in the reflective mirror.

"I asked, did you have a good holiday, Miss?" the chauffeur asked again, politely. Caroline chuckled to herself. The last chauffeur must have tipped off this one and told him to be super polite.

"Yes. Yes, I did." she answered, then sighed and looked back out the window again. "Maybe the best ever." She took another heavy hearted sigh, and the chauffeur just shook his head and turned his eyes back to the road, confused by her ecstatic words but her less than ecstatic tone.

Caroline suddenly felt her chest tighten a little and her hand flew to her sternum and placed a little pressure on it. She decided to distract herself by going through her purse and she began rummaging around in it, opening and closing things, finally opening her travel clutch and glancing at her tickets and passport. Seeing everything all neat and tidy didn't give Caroline the same gratification it normally did, in what her friend's called her 'OCD nature.'

She quickly thrust everything back into her bag and took another deep breath, suddenly feeling like her scarf was too tight, even though it was loosely and decoratively wrapped around her neck. She pulled it off and flung it in the bag and leaned back against the seat and let her head hang back over the seat. The pain in her chest got tighter, and she prayed for the esophageal spasm to just happen already and to get it over with.

Then she realized that the pain wasn't coming from where it normally was during a spasm. It came from much lower in her chest. She took deep breaths, trying to get rid of the pain and calm her still rapidly beating heart. She closed her eyes and tried to think of something that would calm her down and comfort her. She immediately saw his face and she whimpered and shook her head, trying to rid it from her mind. When his face disappeared, his voice took its place and rang throughout her mind.

"_'Sweet-Caroline-like-the-Neil-Diamond-song'..."_

"_Sweet dreams, love."_

"_You're stunning, love..."_

_"I enjoy you, Miss Forbes..."_

"_'The most interesting girl award'..."_

_"Utter honesty... it's very refreshing..."_

"_You are lovely."_

"_Caroline..." _

"_Caroline..." _

_"Sweetheart, I will always want you, how could I not?" _

"_Caroline..."_

_"Don't be angry, love... it was just a little spat..." _

_"Because you asked me to."_

"_I'm running out of reasons why we shouldn't... Aren't you?"_

_"Oh come on! Take a chance, Caroline... Talk to me..." _

"_Come on, get to know me!"_

"_I dare you..."_

She opened her eyes before she could hear the other ones, the ones from last night that still haunted her. She felt her breathing becoming more strained and she was suddenly filled with dread. They said that they would keep in touch and make this work, but somehow she knew, somehow Caroline _knew_ deep down in her soul if she got on that plane she'd never see Klaus again.

_She'd never see Klaus again._

Something suddenly snapped inside Caroline and she felt her face start to twitch and quiver, and her whole face suddenly felt very hot. She felt a pressure building in her head, right behind her eyes. She took a sharp, stuttering breath and her head snapped forward. Her head snapped forward as she felt them in her eyes. She stared in awe off into the distance in front of her and her vision became blurry, but then she suddenly saw clearly and she felt them. They slowly slid down her cheeks as her whole body trembled. She closed her eyes again and slowly brought a quivering hand up to her cheek, barely grazing it and then brought it down in front of her and opened her eyes.

Caroline was crying.

For the first time in 11 years, Caroline Forbes was crying.

And it was more beautiful, more moving, more astonishing, more unexpected, and more welcomed than she could've ever hoped.

Caroline gaped at her palm, covered in tears, for another moment before she suddenly smiled and began laughing, wiping the remaining tears on her face off and staring at her hands. The chauffeur stared in the mirror at her, completely dumbfounded; she was crying and laughing and practically cheering in the back seat. She didn't care what happened next and she didn't know what to think; she just knew she needed to see him.

"Turn around!" she suddenly called to the chauffeur. He didn't respond, thinking he'd heard her wrong. When he didn't speak and he didn't stop, slow down, or turn the car around, she leaned forward, touched his shoulder and ordered him in a louder, firmer voice.

"Turn around! Please go back!"

"Did you forget something?" he asked innocently. Caroline laughed giddily at his question.

"Yes! _Yes._" she laughed, almost out of breath from laughing, crying and almost having an esophageal spasm and panic attack simultaneously.

"_I forgot the man of my dreams," _she thought joyfully. The chauffeur quickly but carefully did a three-point turn when he had the space and started driving back in the direction of White Oak Cottage. She watched impatiently as he drove and looked out the windows at the slow moving countryside.

"Can you please go any faster?"

"This lane is a bit tricky, it'll take a bit longer. Don't worry miss, I'll have you back there in a jiffy..."

"A jiffy isn't fast enough..." Caroline muttered.

"Excuse me, miss?"

"IT'S OKAY JUST STOP!" Caroline called and barely waited for him to slow to a complete stop before she opened her car and dove out, taking off on a sprint back to the cottage. She vaguely heard him calling after her in the distance, but she ignored it and let the soaring feeling in her heart spur her on. She made it halfway there and paused for a moment in the road and doubled over, trying to catch her breath. She cursed herself and praised herself at the same time—cursed herself for her choice of shoes and praised herself for keeping up with working out amidst her crazy and hectic life. All she needed was the thought of Klaus's dimpled smirk and she smiled and took off running again as fast as her legs could carry her.

She took a short cut through the pastures that surrounded cottage and all but hurtled herself down the hill with the cottage nestled at the bottom. She reached the gate to the house and held onto the gate for support. Her lungs were heaving in her chest and she caught her breath enough and smiled and pushed open the gate and booked it up the front steps and flung herself at the door. She hoped that Klaus had left the door open and was still there. When she turned the knob and felt the door give, she was half satisfied and threw herself into the house, slamming the door behind her.

"KLAUS?" she called out, looking around. When she didn't see him, she turned and searched the living room, she felt a little panicked.

"KLAUS!" she called again, turning and rushing into the kitchen. He was nowhere to be found, so she turned to fly up the stairs to check upstairs when she suddenly froze at the foot of the stairs.

Just past the staircase, down the hallway, stood Klaus. He had one hand gripping the doorframe of the back door and his phone pressed to one ear. He had tears streaming down his face and she could see his body trembling with gasping breaths. Her heart clenched seeing him cry and he was gaping at her as if she were the Ghost of Christmas Past.

"I've- I've got to go," he said to whoever was at the end of the phone, and let the phone slide down from his ear and hung up the phone. He still didn't say anything to her, but simply stared before closing his eyes and clenching them before slowly letting them open, and his breath caught when he still saw her standing before him.

Caroline felt like crying all over again, seeing him react this way, but then she saw his tear stained shirt. She couldn't help but sigh with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. He watched her face and suddenly looked down, looking at his shirt as well and looked back up and realized what made her smile. He was fulfilling his promise that he was 'a major weeper' and cried more than any woman she'd ever met, and he gestured at his face and shirt as if to say, "See? Told you." He gasped, smiling and let his hands hang down at his sides. Caroline just gazed at him adoringly before finally speaking.

"You know, I was just thinking," she started, trying to sound overly sensible and diplomatic, making light of the crazy emotional states they were in, "Why the hell would I leave before New Years Eve? That makes absolutely no sense." Her question shocked him, and then the realization washed over him and he took another shuttering breath: _she wasn't leaving._

"I mean, you didn't exactly ask me out," she continued, and when she glanced down at her hands she remembered the tears that had covered them moments ago, and smiled and looked back up at him. "But you did say that you love me. So, I'm thinking that I have a date," she finished with a laugh. She gazed at him for a moment before tacking on an addendum to her speech. "That is, if you'll have me."

Klaus took a few more breaths, obviously trying to calm himself down, before he looked her over with apprehension. She nervously waited for his response, having expected an overjoyed response from him, especially after she saw he'd been crying.

"I have the girls New Years Eve," he simply said, and she smiled. She couldn't believe he still worried she didn't embrace single father Klaus, just bachelor Klaus.

"Sounds perfect to me," she said wholeheartedly. Klaus smiled and a lone tear slid down his cheek and Caroline strode over to him and threw her arms around his shoulders and held him tight and pressing her face to his chest. Klaus gasped, unable to fathom that she was here in his arms again, and here to stay. He didn't care for how long, but he knew that it was more resolute and permanent than when she disappeared up the road in the black town car. And he was so grateful for that. He wrapped his arms around her happily and let the relief wash over him as she enveloped him with her scent.

She loosened her grip on him and brought her head up to gaze up at him and smiled. He smiled down at her but it fell slightly when he finally got a good look at her. Her face was wet and her eyes were puffy and that's when it hit him: _that's_ what made her come back.

"Caroline, were you," he gasped. She cut him off nodding emphatically and he could see the tears begin to well up in her eyes again. He sighed with a smile and brought his hands up to cradle her face. When they did, Caroline's eyes slid closed and the tears slid down her face with a smile. Even with her face red and raw from the cold and from crying, he swore he'd never seen anything more beautiful. He gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs before leaning down and pressing his lips to hers softly. He felt her hands cover his as she sighed into his kiss.

* * *

"Well here we are!" Rebekah said as the cab peeled away from Alloy Banks Lane.

"Wow. Nice digs," Matt commented, seeing Rebekah's brothers large yet strangely modest house.

"Yeah. It's perfect for Klaus and the girls. It's quite lovely in the summer and the girls have plenty of room to run around."

"Yeah, I'll bet," he murmured, glancing around the yard as they approached the front door. Matt and Rebekah had landed in London almost an hour ago, and after wandering around the city for a bit, they made their way to her brother Klaus' house to get Rebekah's keys back. It was still on the early side, but Rebekah knew the girls would have Klaus up by 7 am, so she finally brought Matt around to meet the first member of her family. The stopped on the front step and Rebekah reached over and knocked on the door.

"Silly man needs to get his doorbell fixed," Rebekah commented to Matt and she quickly turned back to him when she saw his apprehensive expression.

"Don't worry, he's going to love you." She smiled at him, taking his hand and squeezing it.

"Yeah," Matt commented distractedly. Honestly, Matt expected and accepted that Klaus wouldn't only hate his guts but probably threaten him as well. After all, Matt had a younger sister, and he knew how it felt to watch a guy move in on his little sister. If Vicki had brought some guy home unexpectedly, he'd hate him too, so he didn't hold it against Klaus. Hell, if some random foreigner showed up on his doorstep with Vicki, claiming to be attempting a cross-continental relationship with Vicki, he'd probably think he was mentally unstable. Rebekah dropped Matt's hand as they heard someone approach the door and open it. A young girl with long brown hair and a smile greeted them, her grin as big as the splotches of paint on her face.

"AUNTIE BEKAH!" the little girl squealed as she launched herself at Rebekah who masterfully caught her and wrapped the girl into a big hug.

"Oh I've missed those Nina hugs! Best hugs around!" she murmured, scooping up the tiny girl and hoisting her up onto her hip. "Are you happy to see me?" she asked sarcastically and she attempted to wipe off the paint on the young girl's face, but found that it was a thin dry layer.

"YES I AM!" the girl all but screamed in her face and Matt laughed. The little girl turned over her shoulder and yelled into the house.

"ETTIE! DADDY! AUNTIE BEKAH'S HERE!" the girl shrieked and Rebekah and Matt laughed and entered the house and closed the door behind them. The girl giggled and finally addressed the man standing by her aunt.

"Auntie, who's this?" she inquired, giving Matt a studious once over.

"This is my friend, Matt," she said with a smile, putting a demonstrative and supportive hand on Matt's shoulder as she said his name, then turned to the man in question. "Matt, this is my niece Nina, Klaus' youngest."

"Hello, Nina. It's nice to meet you!" Matt smiled at the pretty little girl.

"You're tall like Daddy," the girl commented with a smile at the mention of her father. Rebekah and Matt laughed.

"You're Auntie Bekah's friend?" she asked and Rebekah and Matt chuckled nervously.

"Yes, sweetheart," Rebekah affirmed.

"Daddy's friend is here too," Nina said with a huge grin. Rebekah's eyebrows furrowed.

"Daddy doesn't have any friends," she said, plainly. Matt tried his best to hide his chuckle. "Sweetie, what do you mean Daddy's—" she continued to ask but was cut off as a second little girl, a little older with dirty brown curls appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around Rebekah's waist.

"Aunt Bekah! I'm so glad to see you!" the girl exclaimed, her voice slightly muffled with her face buried in Rebekah's torso. Rebekah chuckled.

"As am I, Ettie! Ettie, this is my friend, Matt. Matt this is Ettie, Klaus' oldest."

"Very nice to meet you, Ettie," he said smiling at the pretty girl. Looks wise, she and her younger sister were as different as night and day. He figured one must look like Rebekah's brother, wherever he may be, and the other must look like their mother, may she rest in peace. Rebekah had told him all about the ins and outs of her family on the flight over so he wouldn't be overwhelmed or blind-sighted once he met them; well at least not that much.

"Likewise," the young girl replied with a small, shy smile. Rebekah looked over her suspiciously when she saw the girl had dry paint splotches on her just like her sister, only on her arms.

"Now where is 'the Big Bad' himself?" Rebekah asked the girls as she took both hers and Matt's coats and put them in the hall closet.

"He's coming," Ettie answered quickly and ran to the base of the stairs and shouted up to the second floor. Nina trailed closely behind her. "DAD! AUNT BEKAH'S HERE!" Rebekah laughed and looked over at Matt.

"That's a surprise. Usually Nina's the megaphone of the duo," she smiled, "It's nice to see Ettie this clamorous and outgoing..."

"I can see that... Nina seems to be the cheekier—" he said but stopped short and he and Rebekah gaped as they looked at the top of the stairs.

* * *

Caroline sighed happily as she sat at the short drawing table with the girls in Klaus's studio. They were seated at a shorter children's table coloring with colored pencils and markers strewn across it while Klaus worked at the canvas Caroline saw the first time she was in the studio.

"That is a very pretty horse, Nina."

"Thank you, it's for you!" the girl beamed proudly.

"Really?"

"Yes, Daddy said you love ponies!"

"Oh he did, did he?" she said, throwing Klaus a look and she saw him peering past the side of his canvas and he suddenly ducked back behind it.

"Did he tell you that I had a pony when I was younger?"

"No!" the girl's eyes widened in surprise and she smiled, "What was its name?"

"Misty," Caroline replied proudly.

"Misty?" Klaus's voice came from behind the large canvas. Caroline raised her head up to look at him and she saw his dimpled smirk appear around the corner of the painting. "Misty the Mystic Falls Champion Pony?"

"I was 7, so sue me!" she scoffed as she pushed off from the table and crossed to confront him. "Like you could've come up with a better name at 7."

"Oh, undoubtedly I would've come up with something a little more ingenious and less expected than Misty... in Mystic Falls," he quirked an eyebrow at her haughtily.

"Yap yap yap, that's all I hear," Caroline brushed him off while he and the girls laughed. She turned to look at the painting and her eyes danced all over it.

"So is it done, Picasso?"

"Yep..." he smiled, resting his hands on his hips.

"And how long has it been done?" she asked suspiciously glancing at him and he avoided her gaze. "This paint is very nearly dry, Klaus."

"Well I didn't want to interrupt the stimulating conversation..." he said in a lower voice, mocking her but not wanting the girls to hear. Caroline scoffed and socked him in the arm. He feigned extreme pain and distress silently and Caroline rolled her eyes at him before turning back to the painting.

"As much it grieves me to stroke your ego, Klaus..." she started, shooting him a look and turning back to the painting, "It's really breathtaking." He smiled but said nothing, so she continued. "It's so alive and moving and free and full of light and-"

"You," he added quietly.

"What?" she said, turning to him. She wondered if she'd heard him wrong, but he turned to her and smiled warmly.

"It's you," he smiled.

"But..." Caroline started to sputter, looking back and forth between him and the painting, barely managing to squeak out, "When..."

"After we met. I actually made a lot of progress just before you showed up here, the day you blew me off," he smirked, making her recall how she'd parted with him mid afternoon and only shown up on his doorstep after the dinner hour. She saw her vivacious personality in the blues and pinks and purples, but there were a few elements that were new since the last time she'd seen it. She saw her flaxen hair in the shining golden paint strokes and the cerulean flecks in her eyes in the sparkling cerulean paint spattering all over the canvas.

She turned and gazed at him in awe and he slowly and leisurely sidled up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She folded into his embrace, pressing her cheek into his chest, not caring if he was covered in paint. It was mostly dry anyway. Klaus kissed the top of her head before resting his chin on the top of her head.

They stood like that for a moment until they heard the scraping of a chair on the floor and they separated, knowing one of the girls was getting up from the table and might see them. They kept their PDA to a minimum and on the down low, since they decided they should give it some time before they let the girls know the nature of their relationship. They soon saw Nina fly around the canvas towards them, brandishing her picture.

"LOOK, CAROLINE! LOOK AT MY—" the little girl squealed, waving the picture around, causing her to accidentally knock over a cup of gold paint by the canvas. Luckily the drop cloth Klaus had laid out underneath it was super big, because when the cup landed it catapulted paint across the floor nearly the whole length of the canvas.

"Whoops," the girl said sheepishly and froze where she was, not wanting to step in it or knock something else over.

"Oh you're okay, honey," Caroline said affectionately, kneeling to carefully pick up the cup and Klaus knelt down with her with a rag to try and keep a big lump of paint from drying onto the middle of his workspace.

"It's okay, darling, it's not your fault. It's Caroline's," Klaus told the girl comfortingly. Caroline's head shot up as she glared at him, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"What? Me?"

"Yes, you!" Klaus replied with his signature smirk. "If it weren't for you being here, she wouldn't have been running around, exuberantly waving her arms about," he teased.

"Oh, you are so full of it!" Caroline half scoffed and half laughed and retaliated by automatically dipping her fingers in the gold mess and smearing some across Klaus's cheek. Klaus and Nina gasped in surprise and Nina began to giggle uncontrollably as Klaus stifled a laugh and tried to look at Caroline sternly.

"You should not have done that," he said warningly, reaching for a wide bristle brush in a cup of blue paint next to him.

"Oh, no. Don't you dare—" she started, wagging a warning finger at him, but he acted quickly and dragged the wet paint brush down the side of her face and down her front before stopping the swipe at her knees. Caroline gasped, frozen where she was, still shocked he had just done that to her.

"These," Caroline said slowly, her voice stern and even, with a smile on her face, "were my new Victoria's Secret sweats, Niklaus Mikaelson."

"So what?" he said dismissively, "That's what sweats are for, love."

"Oh," she replied lightly, slow moving to pick up a paintbrush loaded with pink paint, "That's what sweats are for, hmm?"

"Oh, no. No, no, _no_." Klaus held up his hands defensively, but Caroline surprised him by acting like she was going at him with the brush and blindsiding him with the remnants in the cup. Pink paint splattered all over Klaus's neck and chest, covering his skin and the fabric of his V-neck t-shirt. As Klaus gasped in surprise and Nina started hooting into full out laughter, Ettie ran up to see what the commotion was all about. Both girls were in stitches at the sight of their father covered in bright pink paint and he turned and zeroed in on them.

"Oh you think it's funny, do you? You think it's funny?" he laughed, moving to grab them and they shrieked happily. Ettie threw her arms over her head to cover herself, getting them smeared with pink paint as she evaded Klaus. Caroline went after Nina as Klaus pursued Ettie and she managed to smudge some blue and gold paint on the tiny girl's cheeks before she eluded Caroline's grasp. Their romp continued on for a few minutes before Caroline caught a glimpse of the time and groaned.

"Oh no, what time did you say Rebekah was getting here? Around 7 or 8 ish?" Caroline groaned, seeing that it was nearly quarter after seven and grabbing a nearby towel and wiping herself off. Klaus glanced over at the clock and snapped out of it just as quickly as she had.

"Shoot," he looked over the girls and realized they'd managed to avoid 90% of the paint attacks, unlike Caroline.

"I can't meet Rebekah looking like a Pollack," Caroline moaned, attempting to clean herself off to no avail.

"I happen to like Pollack," Klaus said saucily but when Caroline shot him a serious look he cleared his throat and began to usher everyone upstairs. "Okay girls, go make yourselves look pretty for Aunt Rebekah. Daddy has to help Caroline find a new change of clothes."

The girls scampered off to clean up their little bit of paint and Klaus and Caroline hurried up to her room. She kept a separate room for appearances for the girls, but she had snuck into his room after the girls had gone to sleep a time or two. They never did anything with the girls in the house, and Klaus couldn't wait for Elijah and Katherine to get back so he could have some _adult_ time with Caroline.

"Ugh. Klaus, I didn't have that many casual clothes with me. I'll be a paint covered weirdo wearing Tom Ford," she groaned as she rooted through her suitcase and clean laundry.

"Hold on a second, I'll be right back," Klaus said, rushing down the hall and reemerging with a black Henley and sweats.

"Klaus, those sweats are much too big, they'll never stay on my hips," Caroline pointed out, "And I can't meet your sister wearing your clothes!"

"Why ever not?"

"Because she already knows we slept together!" the pitch of Caroline's voice getting higher as she got more frantic, "And meeting her while wearing your clothes is rubbing it in her face!"

"Hmm, you've got a point."

"You think?"

They suddenly hear a knocking come from downstairs and Caroline emerged from the mountain of clothes she'd been sifting through.

"Oh god, oh my god! Oh my god she's here! And I look like an art project!" Caroline started to freak out and pace.

"Caroline, love, calm down," Klaus said, intercepting her and grabbing her shoulders and looking her square in the face. "I have two young daughters, messes happen. It's fine, if anything seeing you like this may soften the blow."

"You think?" she asked, worriedly, peering up into his face. They heard Nina shout Bekah's arrival from the door and they looked back at one another.

"Yes," he said with a supportive smile, "And besides, Bekah's a grown up, she'll get over this whole sex thing when she sees how dedicated we are to this relationship. I mean, you're here, aren't you?" Caroline took a deep breath.

"Yes I am. I just feel bad for springing this on her. I mean, I'm supposed to be back in Virginia."

"Don't worry, love, it will all work out," he said, taking her face in his hands and pulling her in to peck on her lips. She smiled up and him and reached up to close the gap again and deepen the kiss, but they suddenly heard adult voices coming from downstairs and Caroline's head snapped towards the door. Klaus kissed the top of her head and took her hand.

"Come on love, time to face the music," he said, walking to the door with Caroline. Caroline held his hand tight and followed, making their way out of the room and down the hall to the stairs. On their way, they heard Ettie's voice shout from the bottom of the stairs and soon they rounded the corner and stopped short at the top of the stairs.

Caroline felt like her eyeballs were going to pop out of her head when she saw who was standing beside Rebekah.

"Matt?"

"Caroline?"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here? I thought your flight left yesterday morning?"

"You two know each other?" Klaus asked, glancing back and forth between Caroline and this Matt person standing at his door... with his little sister's arm wrapped around his.

"Yes, Matt's a friend, oh my gosh I still can't believe you're here!" Caroline said as she crossed down the stairs quickly and ran and took a running jump into his arms. It felt like it had been ages since she saw a familiar face from home, and definitely a long time since she'd seen one in the flesh. The pair smiled and laughed before Caroline released him.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?" she asked, smiling brightly at Matt.

"Well um... it's a funny story." Matt blushed, but then looked between the paint-splattered Caroline and paint-splattered Klaus and smirked, "Probably as funny as yours, I'll bet..."

Caroline looked at all the different faces, at Klaus's surprised and slightly guarded face, Rebekah's stunned and gaping face, and Matt's blushing but cheeky one and nearly doubled over with laughter.

"You have no idea."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Oh my gosh, you have no idea how much fun it was to write this chapter... It was an absolute pleasure to write this and I hope it's as much of a pleasure to read! It really drained a lot out of me! I'm sorry if Klaus was OOC, but he's a young single dad who not only lost the mother of his children, but was about to lose the woman he loved as well... And Jomo is such a brilliant actor, I'd totally pay to see that scene after Caroline leaves reenacted... Now you have the second to last chapter... the last chapter, 18, will be epilogue-ish with flashbacks to tell us how the characters got to where they are... and it may or may not include some Mabekah smuttiness ;)

And a big shout out to the marvelous _**MEHA**_ (The-Passionate-Sun on FF; givemeklaus on tumblr) for stepping up and Beta-ing for me since CC's email hates me and wouldn't let her email me! **I STILL LOVE YOU CEEC! **Please follow Meha and CC (klaussaholic) if you have a tumblr, they're great gals that you'll get to know and love just like I did!

**Please R&R! xo a-little-blonde-distraction**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note**: NOOOOO! This can't be over! I have had such a blast writing this fic and I hope you all have enjoyed reading it! Thank you so much for sticking with me (even though I put it on the back burner for a while, ugh life) and thank you for all of your lovely reviews and messages! They've seriously made this all worthwhile :) This will have flashbacks in it, I don't think I've done them yet in this story, more like italics for remembering conversations, but never full blown flashback scenes, so yeah... Here it is...

* * *

**CHAPTER 18**

"WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP! IT'S NEW YEAR'S EVE!"

Caroline groaned, jolting out of her sleep as a little body slammed into her and jumped on her over and over again.

"What are you, Eloise at the Plaza? Go wake up your father, Nina," she muttered irritably, rolling over and burying her head underneath her pillow. She cursed him for being the heavier sleeper. The little brunette paused only a moment before she moved from straddling Caroline's torso to landing square on her father's gut. Nina effectively woke her father by knocking the wind right out of him.

"Ugh, Nina," he groaned.

"DADDY! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! IT'S NEW YEAR'S EVE!" the little girl continued to shriek.

"Yes, and it'll be New Year's Eve an hour from now, Nina. Give Caroline and Daddy a little more time to sleep, love," he murmured, rolling over. The motion caused Nina to fall in between him and Caroline.

"I'm sorry, Dad, I told her to wait until you came downstairs," Klaus heard his eldest say from the doorway.

"Thank you for trying, sweetheart," he muttered, half his face buried in his pillow. "Would you mind making some-"

"Coffee? Already done," the nine year old smiled proudly.

"That's my girl. Okay. Just a few more minutes, please, girls?"

"Come on, Nina. You can help me ice the cinnamon rolls," Ettie said, hoping to persuade her sister to leaving the slumbering adults alone.

"Oh, yay!" Nina screamed happily, scurrying off the bed. She pushed past her sister and scampered down the hallway. Ettie just shook her head with a smile and followed her sister, closing the bedroom door behind her.

"Your daughter is a saint," Caroline's muffled voice came from under a pillow and Klaus smirked.

"For distracting Nina or making breakfast?"

"Both."

Klaus chuckled, finding it hard to disagree. Ettie was always outrageously mature for someone her age, and sometimes he forgot that she was nine and not nineteen. She was self-sufficient, exceedingly helpful, and the perfect buffer for her rambunctious sister.

"I love Nina, but it's so hard for me to fall asleep again after I'm awake," Caroline grumbled. "Especially after I'm _jolted_ awake like that." She sighed and Klaus smiled, opening his eyes and looking over at the mound of blankets and pillows where Caroline's voice was coming from.

"Well who says we have to sleep?" he murmured, ducking under the covers and fishing out his girlfriend.

"Klaus, I'm so sleepy," Caroline groaned, trying to hide her smile as she felt his arms snake around her and pull her closer.

"So am I," he said, starting to kiss her jaw and trailing kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. "I was kept up all night, restlessly waiting for my lover to return to me, but she only came to me in my dreams, while I was deep asleep."

"I'm sorry. I told my co-producer I wouldn't be back in the office 'til after New Years. They'll have to fend for themselves," she apologized for bailing on dinner and going into work previous night.

After she, Bonnie, and Stefan had broken the Council story, there had been a state investigation that had unearthed a network of illegal activity that stretched far beyond the Virginia borders across the U.S. The scandal garnered not only a federal investigation, but national attention too, which was why she saw the story on CNN early on in her vacation. The trio received many awards, both personally and for the station, some for their investigative journalism and service to their country. Bonnie's sources told her Tyler was livid, and Caroline couldn't be more pleased. Once she'd flown back to the U.S. she was flooded by job offers from other news syndicates, in other states and even internationally.

She'd agonized over it for a while and discussed her options with Klaus. But when her dad died, it became clear to her where she was supposed to be: in the U.K. with Klaus and the girls. He had stayed to help her lay her father to rest and then he'd brought her back home with him. Even throughout all the adjustments and changes, she hadn't regretted it in the slightest. It was the easiest and best decision she had ever made.

"I know one way you can make it up to me..." Klaus grinned, sliding one of the straps of her camisole sleep shirt down and kissing her shoulder. Caroline purred and buried her fingers in his curls.

"So is this the way it's gonna be? Me working and making it up to you with sexual favors?"

"What a brilliant idea, Caroline. I couldn't have come up with a better idea myself," he said with a grin, kissing his way across her collarbone to the other side of her neck. He heard Caroline laugh and she pulled his face up to hers.

"You're incorrigible, Mr. Mikaelson..."

"And you love it, Miss Forbes..."

"You know what I love?"

"My rapier wit and charm?" Caroline laughed and rolled her eyes.

"No, your _humility_," she said sardonically. Klaus chuckled, his dimples showing. Caroline gazed at him and waited until his gaze returned to hers.

"And I love you," she said seriously, and Klaus gazed back at her.

"I love you, Caroline Forbes," he replied and leaned down and gently placed his lips on hers. She smiled into his kiss and he held her close, knowing he'd never get tired of hearing her say that. It had taken her time to say it to him, and he was actually glad that she hadn't just said it to say it back, because it made her saying it that much more meaningful.

* * *

_Klaus stirred the pot of pasta and turned off the stove, knowing it was thoroughly cooked and needed to drain. He crossed to the cabinet to retrieve the colander, put it in the sink, and quickly dumped the curly noodles into it. Just as he went to retrieve plates, he heard his cell phone ring in the foyer where he'd left his workbag._

"_Girls! Dinner!" he called as he walked over to get his phone. He glanced at the caller id and smiled._

"_Hello, love. I was going to call you later, I just got dinner on the table, do you mind if I-"_

"_Klaus," Caroline's voice cut him off and Klaus's smile disappeared and his brow furrowed immediately._

"_Caroline," he replied, concerned hearing her thick and heavy tone. "What's wrong?" He heard her gasp and choking back sobs, but she didn't reply. He became even more worried and gripped the phone._

"_Caroline, talk to me. What's wrong? What's going on?" Caroline's crying became a little more distant and he suddenly heard another voice on the line._

"_Nik?" _

"_Rebekah?" he replied, surprised, "What's wrong? Why am I talking to you? Why is Caroline crying?" He wasn't surprised that Rebekah was there; she had quit her job at the magazine in England and taken up online work for __People Magazine__ and stayed in Virginia to be with Matt and she was staying with Caroline and Matt until she sorted out a living situation. He was surprised because he was on with Caroline one minute and his sister the next and he feared the worst._

"_Something's happened."_

"_Rebekah, you know I'm not one for waiting, just tell me! Is something wrong with Caroline? Or..."_

"_Niklaus," Rebekah interrupted him. "Caroline's father is dead..." Klaus froze and the color drained from his face._

"_What?" his voice was barely a whisper._

"_He... He was leaving work and he was mugged on the way to his car and he was stabbed. Bill bled out on the way to the hospital. The police say his wallet and car were missing, so it looks like they mugged him, took his keys and stole his car. The police are still out looking for the carjacker, and they're trying to trace his license plate and what not. Caroline is beside herself, and she just kept saying she needed to talk to you, but she's not in great shape. Bonnie, Stefan and Matt are trying to calm her down, she started hyperventilating when she was on the phone with you..."_

"_Where is she now?"_

"_Stefan, Bonnie, Matt and I are at the hospital now with her. We're going to try and get her to go home, there's nothing more that they can do here. Her mom is at the crime scene, and I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing for Caroline. I think she just needs to calm down, and I'll have her call you when she's a little calmer, okay? Nik? Nik?" Rebekah looked down at her phone to see that Klaus had already hung up on her._

* * *

_Katherine walked up the stone path to the front door and as she reached the front step and lifted her hand, the door opened before she could knock._

"_What took you so long? Klaus said irritably, leaving the door open for her and crossing back into the foyer._

"_Sorry, Sofia hid the car keys and wouldn't tell us where they were," she responded half-defensively and half-apologetically. She entered, closed the door behind her then looked expectantly at Klaus. "So chief, what's the plan?"_

* * *

"_Caroline, I left a lot of my stuff at Matt's, so I'm going to run back, grab a shower and a change of clothes. Will you be alright until I get back?" Rebekah sat beside her friend, who sat cross-legged on the couch in her living room, a blanket on her lap and mug of tea in her hand. _

"_Yes, I'm fine," Caroline sighed, her eyes red rimmed and her face blotchy from crying. "I mean, if you could get me some more tea that'd be nice. Matt made this for me and it tastes-"_

"_Ghastly, I know. Matt's tea is terrible, though I honestly don't know how one ruins tea. He says he 'over honeys'," Rebekah said, taking the mug out of Caroline's hand. Caroline snorted, her lips quivering as she tried for a small smile. Rebekah gave her a sad smile, glad that she was almost able to make Caroline laugh and smile, neither of which seemed likely to happen since she had been called into the hospital last night. Rebekah quickly refreshed Caroline's tea and squeezed her hand before turning to dash out._

"_Have you heard from Klaus?" Caroline's voice came as Rebekah's hand reached for the doorknob. Rebekah froze and slowly turned to Caroline with a sigh._

"_No. I'm sorry, Care," she admitted sadly, "I called all my other siblings, they said they haven't heard from him, Katherine just said he had some urgent business to take care of…" Caroline stared blankly at the tea mug in her hands, and Rebekah practically read her thoughts._

"_He's not avoiding you, Caroline. Yes, Klaus doesn't handle loss well, but he cares about you deeply. You're one of the most important things in his life. Trust me, I know; he's my brother. He'll call you as soon as he can." Rebekah said, hoping her speech sounded convincing. In reality, she was worried about Klaus as well. Her siblings hadn't been much help in giving an explanation as to why Klaus dropped off the face of the Earth after she talked to him on the phone yesterday. All she knew was Katherine had Ettie and Nina and she was at least glad for that. When he finally did ring, she was going to give him a piece of her mind for not just blowing her off but abandoning Caroline. It wasn't like him at all. _

_She knew Caroline wouldn't respond so she turned and left, rushing to jump in Matt's truck. He'd left it for her when he'd left with Stefan earlier. He had to go to the Grille and felt horrible about it, but Caroline had nodded and waved him away and Rebekah knew he'd get there and try to switch shifts with someone else._

_Caroline sat on the couch dejectedly and after a few minutes her eyes flicked up to look at her phone, which Bonnie had left for her on the coffee table. She stared at it, trying to will it to light up with Klaus's name and phone number. Then she debated picking it up and calling him herself. Even if he didn't pick up she could at least talk at his phone as if he were on the line. Tell him how disappointed she was in him and how alone she felt and how abandoned she felt, even though everyone else was doing their best to be with her. _

_Just as she summed up the nerve to reach for her phone and call him, the doorbell rang. Caroline closed her eyes and sighed, not wanting to face another concerned neighbor with another inedible sympathy casserole, but she knew she had to answer the door. She put her tea down and slowly pushed herself up and crossed to the door. She took a deep breath and turned the knob and began her speech._

"_Thank you so much for coming, it means a lot my family and I that-" she started, clenching her eyes shut, her words all running together._

"_Caroline."_

_Her eyes flew open as she beheld the face she had been cursing only moments ago. His piercing blue green eyes were heavy with worry and sadness and the bags under his eyes matched hers and told her he hadn't slept, just like her. She couldn't believe she had ever been mad at him and he saw her lip start to quiver as the tears began to well up in her eyes. He didn't say another word as he quickly opened the screen door and came to her just as she crumpled to the floor, falling into his arms that were open and ready to catch her._

"_Shhh, shhh, it's okay. It's okay. It's me. You're safe," he whispered to her, cradling her in his arms in her front doorway, both doors wide open. Her sobs wracked her body and Klaus held her tightly, wishing he could absorb all her pain for her like a sponge, and she began to choke on tears as she spoke._

"_He... he's d-d-de-dead, K-k-klaus..." she gripped his shirt tightly as her tears stained it as her face pressed into his chest. "I d-d-didn't get to s-s-s-say good-b-b-bye..."_

"_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Caroline," he murmured over and over, moving to sit down. He began rocking a bit, hoping it would calm her as it always did with Ettie and Nina. He was glad that after a few minutes her sobbing had turned to silent tears, but she hadn't moved or released her tight grip on his shirt so he stayed right where he was; right where she needed him._

"_People keep stopping by and saying, 'They're sorry for our loss' and bringing casseroles and telling me 'At least he's not in pain. At least he's in a better place' and-"_

"_That is total bollocks," Klaus interrupted her gently, stroking her hair. "No one is better off without their parents..." _

_Caroline stilled in his arms and slowly leaned and turned her face towards him. He had been through so much loss, after losing Tatia, Henrik, and his mother, and his not so great or adoptive father; even through all that, he was sitting there, in her doorway, with his arms around her, nearly 4,000 miles away from home. And she remembered back to their little night in at Rebekah's house watching Zombieland and her words echoed in her ears as she looked at his face, gazing down at her, "The old 'I'll be there for you in your hour of need' routine..."_

"_I love you," she said, placing a hand on his stubbled cheek and gazing up at him. The love that shone brightly in her eyes and was written plain as day on her face nearly took his breath away. She had said she didn't fall in love, 'at least not like other people,' and she hadn't said it back to him that night before she almost left after Christmas; nor had she said it when she came back and said she'd stay for New Years. But somehow, looking down at her face, he knew it was the most honest and sincere thing she'd said to him yet. It still stunned him and she smiled seeing his astonishment and leaned up and pressed her lips to his. Never had the words come to mind so swiftly, and she knew that they were long over due._

* * *

After a while, Klaus and Caroline finally made their way down stairs and were welcomed by the warm smell of cinnamon and icing.

"Oh," Caroline moaned, "Ettie, you aren't a child. You are an angel sent by God to spoil me, I swear I don't deserve you." She poured herself a cup of coffee and went to grab a cinnamon roll. An inch away, another hand grabbed the roll she was zeroed in to snag. She looked up and saw Klaus giving her a mischievous grin before he took a bite of the cinnamon roll.

"Excuse you," she shot him a look, "That had my name on it."

"No, it didn't," he shot back, mouthful of pastry, only to be met with a smirk and quirked eyebrow. Caroline looked between him and the cinnamon roll and he finally lowered it from his mouth to look at it. He faintly made out the "-oline" written in icing on the top.

"Oh, my apologies, love," he smirked, leaning over and pecking her on the lips. Caroline tried to keep the façade of anger and frustration, but his cinnamon and icing laced kiss made her smile.

"Oh, I know one way you can make it up to me," she said, shooting him a sideways glance with a smirk and he looked back at her, quickly glanced at the girls and cleared his throat.

"Well, I'm sure I'll be paying for the stolen pastry for a while, love..."

"Oh you will," Caroline said, quirking her eyebrow, "I've got my ways of getting back at you. The rack, water boarding, tickle torture..."

Ettie and Nina giggled, and Nina looked up at them and smiled with her icing covered face. "Daddy, when is Auntie Bekah getting here with Matt?"

"She said they'd be landing at around twelve, love. You and Ettie and Caroline are going to finish straightening up so I can go and fetch them."

"Daaaaadddyyy, why can't I come?" she complained, although she was a little hard to understand with the cinnamon roll.

"Nina, don't talk with your mouth full. And they're staying for 2 whole days, so don't worry your pretty little head about it," Klaus said as he poured each of the girls a glass of orange juice and putting the carton back into the fridge. Nina started to pout over her cinnamon roll and all Klaus could do was sigh and shake his head at his insistent, stubborn little girl. After all, she inherited her stubbornness from him, so he could only fault her so much.

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm a cleaning machine," Caroline started, peering over her coffee cup at both girls, "I plan on mopping the floor with both of you. By the time Aunt Bekah's here, she won't recognize this place. Not once I'm done with it."

"Sounds like fighting words there," Klaus said, smirking and catching on to what she was doing. She was turning it into a competition to manipulate the girls into helping clean up. He loved her ingenious parenting techniques; she'd make anyone else think she'd already raised a set of her own.

"I've already cleaned the playroom and the living room! I should get points for that!" Ettie insisted, taking a sip of her juice.

"Me too! I helped with the playroom!" Nina added after she had quickly finished chewing her food.

"Hardly! You put your video game away once you were done playing with it. I cleaned the room," Ettie made a face at Nina and Caroline put her cup down quickly and began laughing hysterically.

"What?" Klaus asked, confused. Sure it was funny, Ettie calling out Nina, but it wasn't that funny.

"She looked so much like you just then." Caroline barely got the words out between laughs. Klaus smirked and reached over and grabbed Caroline to tickle her.

"Oh, did she?"

"Yes, she did." Caroline dodged his grasp and gasped to get her breath back. "Like father like dimpled daughter," she said, reaching over and pinching Ettie's cheek. The young girl rolled her eyes but smiled at Caroline.

"Now that, she definitely got from you," Klaus said, pointing a finger at her and taking a sip of coffee.

"And I couldn't be more proud," Caroline said beaming. She crossed her eyes and made a face at Klaus.

"You know sometimes, Ettie and Nina put together are more mature than you," he said, smirking and taking another bite of cinnamon roll. All three girls laughed and the merry bunch finished their breakfast.

* * *

"Bekah, I really think we should wait to tell Klaus," Matt said as they crossed to the luggage carousal to grab their bags.

"Matt, it's not a big deal. Moving in together is not a big deal. Besides, from what I've heard, Caroline practically lives at his house."

"Yeah but Caroline still has her own flat..."

"In the _city_, in case she's at work too late and can crash there instead of heading back to Klaus's house." she insisted. Matt was not about to win this one, and he seriously couldn't fight her logic. There had to be something more to this, and Rebekah was going to find out what it was.

"But, I mean..."

"Matt, please be honest with me, just tell me, what is really bothering you?" Rebekah stopped and took Matt's hand.

"I... I don't want your family to judge us. I mean, I was practically engaged and you said yourself, your family thinks you make 'rash decisions' with regards to men..."

"Matt," Rebekah interrupted him, setting her carry on bag down at their feet, and took his face in both of her hands, "I love you and I've never been this happy in my entire life. If my family has a problem with us moving in together, they'll just have to get over it. I mean they already got over me moving to Mystic Falls, so this is nothing compared to that!"

Matt gave his girlfriend a small, warm smile, and gently placed his hands over top of hers.

"You've just given up so much to be with me. I don't want you to have to give up your family too," he said quietly, tenderly rubbing circles on the backs of her hands with his thumbs.

"I'm not," she said softly, leaning up to peck his nose with a small kiss, "But even if I was considering it, I'm glad you wouldn't make me choose."

"Never," he said, leaning down to rest his forehead against hers, "Family's too precious to compromise..."

Rebekah listened to him sigh and she knew that Matt valued family over anyone, having a severe lack of it in his own life. "Yes, well, you're my family now too, so I'm not going anywhere and I refuse to compromise for anything. Or _anyone_," she emphasized. Matt finally gave her a wide grin and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Okay, come on. Let's get our stuff, wouldn't want to keep 'The Big Bad' waiting," he joked, using Rebekah's nickname for Klaus.

"Oh please. He's used to waiting," she scoffed, crossing to the luggage carousel to wait for her bag to come back around the loop. Matt turned and looked at her quizzically and when she saw his expression she laughed.

"He's dating Caroline!"

Matt began laughing hysterically, and leaned down doubled over with laughter.

"I mean, come on! You know how long it took her to say 'I love you,' right?" Rebekah laughed.

"Don't be judge-y just because it didn't take you as long to say it," Matt laughed, leaning up and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her in for a kiss.

"I'm just saying," Rebekah laughed defensively before leaning in and capturing his lips between hers. "Besides, as I recall, you were the one to say it first."

"Indeed I did, Miss Mikaelson..." he smiled, pulling her in for another kiss.

* * *

_Rebekah paced around Matt's living room; anxiously waiting the moment he'd walk in the door. He'd picked up a mid-day shift at the Grille after the high school canceled school due to the random snow storm that came in the middle of the night. He told her that he'd be back after 4 o'clock, and she nervously glanced up at the clock again and saw the minute hand tick to the 16th notch on the numbered face. She had big news and she was both excited and nervous to share it with him. She knew he'd be happy for her, but it meant taking a big step in their relationship. And even though her family was wary about her relationship with Matt, Rebekah was sure about one thing: She loved Matt and she'd do whatever it took to make their relationship work. _

_Her family couldn't ignore the positive effect Matt had had on her; she was noticeably happier and bubblier, more so than she had been in the past couple of years with her thoughts consumed with Damon. She smirked when she thought about the loser, who she heard had been in big trouble with his fiancé when she learned where he'd really been when he went on a spur of the moment trip "to visit his family." Still, Elena had taken him back, but Rebekah didn't care; Damon wasn't her problem anymore._

_She had been in the States for almost three weeks now and she had been staying in Caroline's house a lot so she wouldn't be a burden to Matt. But she did stay with him a lot, but as far as her family knew, she was only living with Caroline. She hoped that he'd invite her to move in together eventually, but she was aware that he was trying to pace their relationship and she respected that. Although they were very similar, Matt's logical and prudent personality tempered Rebekah's emotional and impulsive one._

_She heard tires on Matt's gravel driveway, and began to pace even faster, but then decided she needed to look less frantic and quickly sat down. She struggled to figure out how to position herself that she didn't look too casual but not too serious, and she flopped around on the couch attempting to arrange herself. She heard his keys in the door and finally pulled herself up to sit with her elbows on her knees with her hands clasped in front of her. She couldn't help but smile as Matt's bright and happy face greeted her._

"_Hey, gorgeous," he said, closing the door behind him._

"_Hey, good-looking," she replied. It had become a game between them to greet each other a different way each time someone entered the house and saw the other. He'd come back one night while she was watching a Lifetime movie and wearing a bright green avocado mask. He greeted Medusa and she greeted the grease monkey and squealed when he tackled her to rub his fry cook oils off on her._

"_So I have some news," she said quickly, not able to contain herself or beat around the bush._

"_Okay. Do I need to sit down?" he asked cautiously, only half-joking as if she were breaking terrible news to him._

"_Maybe," she said, a dubious look on her face. He paused upon hearing her tone, and slowly peeled his jacket off._

"_Okay," he said, and slowly crossed to her and sat down beside her, "What's up, Beks?"_

"_So... You know I told my job back in London that I needed more time off, and since I've basically never utilized my vacation, they've said I could return after the 14th..."_

"_Mmhmm, but I told you that you can't compromise your job just for the sake of seeing me, I never dreamed you'd come back with me after New Years."_

"_That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," she quickly said, placing a hand on his leg. "I had already been looking for another job at home, so I was curious and began looking for jobs here Stateside and, well... __People Magazine__ has offered me a job."_

"_What!" Matt said surprised, but with a small smile._

"_Yeah, they want me to help revamp their website and a portion of the magazine, so... I'd like to move here and I wanted to know how you feel about that..."_

"_What about your house? And your friends and family?" he asked his eyebrows furrowing slightly._

"_Well I own my house and Klaus actually has a friend from work, Meha, that's interested in buying it to get out of the city. And my friends and family know I've been in a rut in London, and they're all supportive... Well, mostly supportive, but I know they'll come around. And I have friends here and you and…"_

"_Rebekah," Matt suddenly took her hand in both of his and looked at her seriously, "This is huge; it's a huge move, personally, professionally and physically. If you do this, you have to do it for you, I can't be selfish and let you make this big a step just for me." Rebekah gazed at his concerned expression, but saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes. The fact that he wanted her to make this decision factoring him out, however, was a testament to his selflessness and consideration. _

"_Matt," she said, taking her hand out of his grasp and gently holding his face in her hands, "You're one of the most extraordinary people I've ever known, but I'm doing this for me. I just want you to be as happy about it as I am and say that you'll be here for me."_

"_Of course," he smiled, "I can't believe you even have to-" he continued, but was cut off as Rebekah's lips crashed against his. He wrapped his arms around her and she slowly let herself lie down on the couch and Matt stretched across her gently. Her hands held the back of his head firmly, not allowing his lips to move away from hers. His hands slid down and hitched her legs around his hips so he could settle comfortably between them. Rebekah immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and Matt broke away from her lips to groan at the feeling of their lower bodies being pressed together._

"_Wait..." he said suddenly, sitting up and putting distance between them._

"_What's wrong?" Rebekah said, confused and hurt, and when he heard her voice Matt immediately turned and took her hands in his._

"_No, no it's not you. You're amazing." He saw her give him a small smile but she cast her eyes down in doubt and he gently took hold of her chin and pulled it up to force her eyes back to his._

"_Rebekah Mikaelson, you are the sweetest, most remarkable, and sexiest woman I've ever met." She tried to look away again but he wouldn't let her. "I'm serious, you're so unbelievably sexy, and the fact that you'll never believe me when I say it is one of the things that makes you even more beautiful. I'm serious, it drives me crazy you have no idea how wonderful you are."_

"_So," she started, searching his eyes, "You always push off sexy girls when they have their legs wrapped around you?" Matt laughed and sighed and quickly replied before the memory of how her legs felt wrapped around him come back._

"_I just... I don't want you think that I expect you to... I'm not trying to... You're so happy about moving, I'm not going to take advantage of that," he said, struggling to get the words out. He glanced away with a blush. This time, Rebekah was the one to grab his chin and bring his gaze back to hers._

"_Matthew Donovan," she started, using his full name as he'd used hers, "You are so good and caring, you could never take advantage of me." She gave him a saucy grin and added, "At least not when I didn't want you to." Matt couldn't help but let his eyes flicker down to her full lips, red from his kisses, and then back up to her eyes._

"_Good." he smirked, "I will admit, I've been hoping that it'd be the other way around. That __**you'd**__ take advantage of __**me**__."_

"_That can be arranged," she said, leaning in to capture his lips again, but she paused a half an inch away, "Unless you want to interrupt me again."_

"_No, nope. No interruptions from me," he smiled, and waited for her to close the distance, which she quickly did, weaving her fingers into his hair again. She started to pull him back down with her, but he pulled away again._

"_Okay I lied." he said, shooting up off the couch, and turned to her._

"_Matt, what the fu-" Rebekah's protestation was interrupted when Matt without warning scooped her up off of the couch, causing her to scream and cling to his neck._

"_Our first time is not going to be on a couch," he said, grinning and carrying her to his bedroom. Rebekah laughed, the sound making Matt smile and hasten his steps._

"_You're such a sweetheart," she laughed and he kissed her cheek._

"_If I were a sweetheart, our first time would be on a big king sized bed with silk sheets in a deluxe suite with rose petals and candles. That's the least that you deserve," he said and when he had kicked his bedroom door closed behind them, he carefully set her down on the ground and pulled her to him as he said, "But I'm not going to lie: I have to have you now," Rebekah moaned into his passionate kiss and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt._

"_All I need is you," Rebekah said as his lips trailed down her jaw to her neck, "But __**this**__ needs to go," she said firmly, tugging at his shirt and demanding he move away long enough for her to pull it over his head, which she did._

"_I'll show you mine if you show me yours..." he replied huskily, but she was already pulling her shirt over her head._

"_I need your hands on me, Matt," she said, reaching behind to unclasp her bra, "Don't make me wait," She took his hands and placed them on her breasts, signing at the feeling of his rough hands, calloused from hard labor and playing the guitar, on her soft skin._

"_You're beautiful," he murmured, delicately pecking kisses along her jaw and catching her earlobe between his teeth. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his back to hold his shoulders and pull him closer. His hands slid down her torso and snuck beneath the waistband of her yoga pants and grazed her buttocks. She gasped and he grinned as his mouth descended to continue sucking on the point where her neck met her shoulders. His hands gently guided her backwards until she settled on the bed. _

_He kissed across her chest until his mouth latched onto a nipple, and she arched her back at the sensation and her fingers clung to his short hair. He lavished each breast until he trailed down her stomach and eased her pants and panties down. Her breath quickened as she felt him trail kisses down her legs before gently pushing her thighs open. Before she could say a word, his mouth was on her and she released the breath she didn't know she was holding as the shock flooded her body._

"_Oh my god... Oh my... Matt..." she gasped, her hands immediately finding his hair and tugging on it as he went down on her. It didn't take her long to climax, but just when she thought his lips would make their way back up, he continuing ravishing her until her second orgasm claimed her. She pulled him up, her legs still trembling, and gazed heatedly into his eyes._

"_I need you inside of me, __**now**__." _

_He growled softly and came back up to meet her lips and she flipped them over quickly. She trailed kisses down his broad and muscular chest, before flicking open his jeans and she had them and his boxer briefs off and across the quick as a flash. She moved back to kiss his lips but she moved to kiss his jaw as he gasped. She'd taken hold of his erection firmly and was sliding her hand up and down, her thumb gently rubbing the sensitive head. _

"_Do you have a..." started, whispering into his ear._

"_Drawer... left..." Matt interrupted, not able to form a full sentence and barely able to form coherent words as her hand stroked his length. Rebekah smirked, releasing him only long enough for her to lean over and retrieve a condom from the drawer of his bedside table. She tore it open with her teeth and rolled it onto him, and Matt grinned at her. "That was so unbelievably hot."_

"_And I can tie a cherry stem into a knot with my tongue too..." She smirked, leaning in to kiss him. _

"_I knew you were a good kisser, no need to brag." He laughed and she smiled._

"_It's what I do best," she said, pecking his lips before sitting up, straddling him and once again taking hold of him and making him gasp. _

"_I love you, Rebekah." _

_Rebekah froze and looked at Matt. His eyes had been closed, absorbed in the sensation of her holding him, and she suddenly thought about the first time Damon had said 'I love you' to her. It also had been in the middle of lovemaking, and he'd denied that he'd said it after everything was said and done. _

"_Do you mean that?" _

_Matt's eyes flew open at the sound of her tiny voice, and when he saw the fear in her eyes, he slowly sat up and held her face in his hands._

"_Of course I do," he said. He chuckled and she felt silly until he spoke again. "It's like your music was in my head until I finally put it on paper." She felt tears pricking at her eyes and he smiled at her, "I just finally said what's been in my heart. I was a goner the second you kissed my cheek." She smiled as she remembered Matt, her very own knight-in-shining-armor coming to her rescue when she was being harangued at the Killlers' concert. She leaned her face closer to his, their noses brushing against the other._

"_I love you too, Matt. With you, I'm happy and alive and," she paused as she gazed into his eyes, letting the word come to her, "Whole." It was such a plain word for such an extraordinary feeling. People could fault her for 'needing a man to complete her,' but she had spent the entirety of her Christmas holiday discovering herself again and rebuilding her life after Damon had shattered it like a wrecking ball. And sure Matt had helped, but she was back to her old self once she'd literally thrown Damon out of her life for good. _

_What Matt did was bring out a side of herself she didn't even know she had. He become such an important part of her life, she couldn't imagine what it would be like without him; and she never would, if she could help. She leaned down and they held each others faces as they tenderly kissed each other, completely wrapped up in the other's embrace. Matt let out a low gasp as he felt them connect since he hadn't even realized Rebekah had moved. His hands moved to her shoulders and he clung to her tight, refusing to let her go. They slowly made love to the other, fitting together as easily as puzzle pieces, and didn't stop until the sun came up._

* * *

"Hellooo?" Rebekah called, summoning her nieces to the front door.

"Something smells awfully good," Klaus called as took off his coat and crossed to the coat closet. Nina and Ettie barreled into Rebekah and knocked the wind out of her before she could agree.

"I'm making stir fry!" Caroline called from the kitchen.

"Caroline is cooking? Should I call a medic or the fire department first?" Matt joked, raising his voice to make sure it carried to the kitchen, before handing his and Rebekah's coats to Klaus, who smirked at his comment.

"If you want your stir fry with a dash of spit, I can do it, Matt! Don't tempt me!" Caroline's voice quickly replied and Klaus, Rebekah and Matt chuckled.

"So Caroline cooks now?" Rebekah replied once she had the breath to talk after the girls released her.

"I've been teaching her a few things..." Klaus said, crossing into the kitchen, with Nina and Ettie scampering in front of him and Rebekah and Matt following him.

"Major props, man," Matt said, congratulating Klaus, "When Caroline left for college, she could barely make peanut butter and jelly."

"Don't exaggerate," Caroline said, turning off the stove and shooting him a look as Klaus and Rebekah laughed. The girls hurried to finish setting the table, putting out the last cups around the settings.

"And I see you've put the girls to work," Klaus said, walking over and giving Caroline a kiss on the cheek.

"What do you think they are, my slaves?" Caroline scoffed and rolled her eyes. "They offered to do it."

"Really?" Rebekah said, surprise in her voice as she sat down at the table.

"Yes, and don't sit there, Aunt Bekah," Ettie said. Rebekah quickly got up.

"You're sitting here between me and Matt," Nina said, skipping around the table and motioning to the handwritten, crayon colored place cards on the plates.

"Oh!" Rebekah said with a smile, picking up the little piece of paper with her name on it with the 'K' written backwards. "Who made mine?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"Me!" Nina shrieked proudly. Matt and Rebekah laughed.

"And was it your idea, Nina?" Matt said, sitting down at his place and looking at his own place card.

"Nope, it was mine! I read about them in a book and thought it might be fun to make some of our own," Ettie said brightly with the dimpled grin she inherited from her father.

"Wow," Rebekah and Matt murmured together.

"My little party planner in training," Caroline said holding her hand up after placing a giant bowl of noodles on the table. Ettie sat up in her seat and high-fived her and Klaus kissed the top of her head when she sat back down. Rebekah smiled at Caroline, but she didn't miss the way Klaus was gazing at the blonde after she'd turned back to get a serving spoon and fork.

"Take a picture, Nik, it'll last longer, I promise," Rebekah teased.

"Oh shut up, Bekah, and eat your vegetables," Klaus scoffed, gesturing at the dishes already set on the table.

"No, no, no!" Caroline scolded, lightly slapping Matt's hand that was on a serving spoon ready to dish out some food. "Not yet! We have to practice toasting for tonight!" She dashed back to the refrigerator and reached deep into the back.

"Isn't it a little early for the spirits, Forbes?" Matt said, his tone disapproving. Caroline turned back to the table after she'd closed the refrigerator door and smacked the back of Matt's head.

"You calling me a day drinker, Donovan?" she scoffed and Matt smirked.

"Just calling it like I see it."

"Well I should've bet you, because it's non-alcoholic," she said, thrusting the bottle in his face. "Sparkling cider, you idiot," she added, making a face at him as she opened the bottle. The others laughed and Matt smirked.

"Forbes: 1. Donovan: 0." Rebekah refereed and Klaus chuckled.

"Hey, you're supposed to be on my side," Matt laughed, poking Rebekah and making her squeak.

"Referees aren't supposed to take sides," she replied cheekily.

"And we know you're so good at being unbiased," Klaus added sarcastically and promptly dodged a flying piece of broccoli.

"Children, please! No food fights! Fight with Klaus' cooking," Caroline chastised as she filled each of their glasses with the cider, took her seat, and raised her glass. "To us: a great big family together at the beginning of a new year," Klaus smiled at her warmly and the Rebekah turned to look at Matt with a grin.

"To us," everyone repeated in unison, clinking glasses, three and four times since Nina insisted on clinking multiple times. They sipped their sparkling cider and dug into the delicious lunch Caroline had prepared; no ambulances or fire trucks were needed.

* * *

It was coming up on 8 o'clock and the two couples and girls were all relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Caroline had put on her iPod and started a dance train, but Klaus and Matt had stealthily bowed out of it after a while and laughed as Rebekah and Caroline entertained the girls with the Electric Slide, the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha Cha Slide, the Macarena and dance moves from their favorite music videos.

"She's something isn't she," Matt laughed as he watched Rebekah fling her head around like she had when they went to the Killers' concert, not caring if she looked silly, only concerned with having fun.

"Yes she is," Klaus said, but after hearing his strange tone, Matt saw Klaus wasn't looking at his sister. He was watching the other blonde that was teaching his youngest daughter how to do what she called "the Sponge." She'd kicked off her heels and was on her knees to get down to Nina's height and holding her tiny hands in hers, making a tunnel with their hands, spinning to invert it, and then spinning to right themselves again. The little brunette was giggling incessantly and Klaus couldn't help but laugh at how adorably ridiculous Caroline was with his daughter.

"I'm really glad you met her," Klaus suddenly heard Matt say, and when he turned to him, he continued, "You've been good for Caroline." Klaus regarded Matt and his words carefully. He'd found out over the course of Matt's first visit to the U.K. a year ago, last New Year's Eve that he and Caroline had dated in high school. Learning that fact and knowing that he was involved with his sister didn't put Klaus is the best state of mind to get to know Matt. But Matt's acknowledgement of his relationship with Caroline confirmed for Klaus that he and Matt were on the same team, and he smiled at him.

"As you have been for my little sister," he nodded in acknowledgement, and when Matt offered a hand, Klaus took it and the men shook hands. Just after their exchange, the doorbell rang, causing the energy in the room to change and everyone turned to look at the front door.

"Who in the world is that?" Matt wondered aloud.

"I'll go see," Klaus said, standing and crossing to the front door.

"At least he finally fixed the bloody doorbell," he heard Rebekah say under her breath as he made his way to the door.

"I heard that."

"Don't care."

He smirked and opened the door and looked pleasantly shocked to see the two people standing on his doorstep.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We decided to surprise Caroline and Rebekah. We hope that's okay-" the girl with mocha skin and smooth brown hair started to say, but suddenly Klaus was being knocked out of the way by two boisterous blondes screeching at the top of their lungs.

"Oh, my God! Bonnie!" Rebekah screeched, flinging her arms around the girl.

"Stefan, oh, my God, what are you doing here?" Caroline asked, doing the same to the him.

"Surprise!" Bonnie and Stefan barely managed to gasp out with each blonde choking their necks and cutting off their oxygen supplies. Ettie and Nina walked up with Matt to observe the scene that was unfolding in the doorway, and the girls giggled.

"Please, please, come in," Klaus said, trying to usher everyone in from out in the cold.

"Thank you so much," Bonnie said, coming stepping inside the doorway with Stefan after Rebekah and Caroline released them.

"We're sorry to surprise you like this," Stefan started to apologize to Klaus.

"Think nothing of it," Klaus brushed his concern off and taking his coat for him, "You both were so accommodating when I showed up unexpectedly last year, and besides Rebekah and Caroline's friends are friends to me. Welcome," he said extending a hand, which Stefan took and shook with a smile.

"Thank you. However, I did make sure that we came bearing gifts!" Bonnie said, holding up a big shopping bag proudly.

"Oh please, you shouldn't have," Rebekah said.

"Don't worry! I didn't for you. What? It's not your house, is it?" Bonnie said haughtily and Rebekah pinched her and Bonnie swatted her arm. "Besides, I can see you whenever I want. These are for... Ettie and Nina, isn't it?" She glanced at Caroline, hoping she remembered their names right and Caroline smiled and nodded. Bonnie smiled and turned to the girls.

"Hello you lovely ladies. I'm Bonnie, and this is Stefan." Stefan smiled and gave them a small wave. Each girl smiled politely at Stefan before turning back to Bonnie.

"Hello, Bonnie. I'm Ettie," the eldest said politely.

"And I'm Nina," the younger one said, stepping boldly in front of her sister. The adults laughed, but with the introductions over, Nina immediately got down to business. "So what did you get me?"

The others laughed, but Klaus gave Nina a look and said her name with a warning tone. Nina looked apologetically at her father and shrugged and Klaus turned an apologetic expression towards Bonnie. Bonnie smiled and shook her head, telling him silently she wasn't offended and not to worry about it.

"Well, I loved playing board games on New Years Eve with Caroline when we were your age, so I brought a new game for each of you to learn how to play and for you to keep," she said, fishing out boxes from the bag. One went to Nina, the other to Ettie, and both ripped the presents open eagerly.

"'Guess Who?' What's that?" Nina asked inquisitively.

"It's like a mystery game," Matt said, kneeling down on the floor to talk to Nina at her level. "You try to guess what mystery person your opponent has without saying their name.'Is it a boy or a girl?' 'Do they wear glasses?' 'Do they have a hat?'" he said, giving her examples.

"Ooooooh sounds fun! Let's go!" Nina said, eagerly taking Matt's hand and dragging him back to the living room. The adults laughed and Klaus shouted to get his daughter's attention.

"What do you say, Nina?"

"Thank you!" came the little girl's shout came from the other room. The others laughed as Ettie finished opening her present.

"Apples to Apples?" Ettie said questioningly.

"Oh my gosh, I love this game!" Caroline squealed. "Ettie, you're going to rock at this game, it's all about guessing what other people will like, and you're so good at that already!"

"Will you play it with me?"

"Sure! We can all play with you," Caroline smiled. Ettie smiled, thanked Bonnie, and went back to the living room to open and set up her new game.

"And before I forget," Bonnie added, rummaging in the bag. "This is for our host," she said, brandishing a bottle of wine in Klaus's direction, which he took with a nod.

"Thank you, Bonnie. It's much appreciated," he said, inspecting the label.

"It's one of my favorite red wines in Virginia," Bonnie explained. "It has a touch of cherry and vanilla flavoring, with just a hint of eucalyptus..."

"Interesting," Klaus murmured, reading the label's information about the vineyard.

"Oh it's so good," Caroline added once she heard Bonnie's description and saw the label, "Isn't this the wine we broke open when we got hired at the station?"

"The one in the same! I can't get enough of it..."

"You a wine drinker, Stefan?" Klaus asked politely. He had only been in Mystic Falls for less than a month to help Caroline with her father's funeral and all, but shortly after she'd come back with him to the U.K. He actually enjoyed Bonnie and Stefan's company, and was a little bummed that he didn't have more time to get to know them better. He told them that his door was always open for them to come and visit for as long as they wanted, and he was extremely glad they'd decided to take him up on his offer for this New Years.

"I'm more of a bourbon drinker myself," Stefan replied with a contained, polite smile.

"Really?" Klaus said, raising his eyebrows. "Might I interest you in some English whiskey that was given to me by a co-worker for my birthday?"

"Sure! Sounds great!" Stefan said with a smile, loosening up noticeably.

"I haven't had the opportunity to taste it yet," Klaus explained and turned to give Caroline an accusatory look, "Nor have I had the partner to drink it with..."

"Bleh, boys and their bourbon and whiskey. I'm a vodka martini girl and wine snob," Caroline said, taking the bottle out of Klaus's hand, linking arms with Bonnie and steering them towards the kitchen to get glasses. "Coming, Beks?"

"Don't have to ask me twice," she said, snatching the bottle of wine away and following the girls to the kitchen.

* * *

Before they knew it, it was almost 11 o'clock and they'd played numerous rounds of "Guess Who?" with Nina and were still engrossed in a heated and competitive game of "Apples to Apples".

"How are handcuffs emotional?" Klaus griped after taking a sip from his glass of whiskey. "That makes absolutely no sense..."

"Doesn't matter!" Caroline said, "Handcuffs always win."

"What?!"

"Handcuffs is like one of those winner-take-all cards..." Rebekah clarified, having been initiated into the "Apples to Apples" universe in Virginia.

"Yeah, like Adolf Hitler," Bonnie added.

"Or whips," Caroline said.

"Or chains," Rebekah added.

"Or David Hasselhoff," Caroline added with a smirk.

"Why David Hassel-?" Klaus started to ask.

"Just because! They're like house rules!" Caroline said, laughing at Klaus's furrowed brow and pouting face.

"Love, you said the point was that there were no rules. Is this making any sense to you?" Klaus asked Stefan.

"Don't look at me. I'm just here for the spirits," Stefan laughed, holding up his whiskey glass appreciatively.

"And I'll cheers to that," Klaus smirked, clinking his glass with Stefan's.

"Jeez. Look at them all bromance-y already," Caroline muttered to the girls. They chuckled and Rebekah sighed.

"Oh let him have his fun. Without Stefan and Matt here, Klaus is completely surrounded by estrogen all the time," she murmured, watching her brother and good friend talk amongst themselves.

"Yeah well he says that's his curse in life," Caroline said with an adoring smile, "'To be surrounded by beautiful women.'" She quoted. Bonnie and Rebekah smiled.

"He's so great, Care... I'm so happy for you... I'm so happy for both of you..." Bonnie said, pulling each blonde in for a hug. Their little love fest and "Apples to Apples" game was interrupted by a little brunette tornado barreling through their set up.

"Caroline! You said you were going to play with me next!" Nina demanded.

"Watch out, Care. Nancy Drew ain't got nothing on this tyke," Matt said, mussing the brunette's hair. The tiny girl smirked and swatted at his hand and tried to smooth her hair as best as possible and turned back to the blonde in question.

"Alright," she sighed defeatedly, hanging her head as if she was dreading this match off, and stood. "Nina, I love you dearly, but you're going _down_," Caroline said seriously, crouching down to be at eye level with the tiny girl.

"We'll see about that!" Nina said, dramatically getting up in Caroline's face, pressing their foreheads and noses together. The adults laughed as the brunette scampered back to her game with their blonde friend in tow.

"I'm going to freshen up my glass. Want some, Beks?" Bonnie asked, standing to go back to the kitchen.

"I'm good, thanks," Rebekah replied.

"I think I'll have a little more of the whiskey," Stefan said, standing, "I'll go with you." The two turned to go back to the kitchen and Rebekah looked over at Matt and gave him a questioning look, her eyes darting back between him and her brother. He gave her a questioning look, as if to say, "Now?" and she nodded yes. She turned and leaned over to her brother.

"Klaus, can we talk to you for a minute?" Rebekah said in a low voice, not so much a whisper so much as below room level. Klaus looked at her over his glass of whiskey and when saw her gaze cheat to Matt, he looked at him then back at her.

"Sure. Is my studio alright?" he asked, not sure what their discussion was going to be about but guessed from Rebekah's tone that she wanted it to be more private.

"Perfect," Rebekah replied, standing and walking to the studio with Klaus and Matt following her close behind. Once they were there, Klaus closed the sliding doors that were usually hidden in the doorframe and turned back to his sister and her boyfriend, both of whom were nervously fidgeting.

"Alright. What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. Matt and I just have some news we needed to share with you..."

"Okay," Klaus said warily, gesturing them to some chairs before he himself took a set on a stool.

"You know I got the job with _People_, and they've been actually paying me substantially more than the magazine here did. But even before that, I had some money saved, you know from my inheritance in mum and dad's will. And Matt was offered a position as an adjunct faculty member at a local college, so he's been getting university employee benefits and such..."

"Spit it out, Bekah, you know I don't like to be kept waiting," Klaus interjected, but not to be mean. His sister knew he had few pet peeves, and dragging out time was among the few. Matt took her hand to calm her down, and it did noticeably and it wasn't lost on Klaus.

"Matt and I are moving in together."

Klaus stared at the two for a moment in silence before he spoke. "Where to?"

"Well you know how I've basically been living at Caroline's house, kinda like a house sitter since she's been here and it's been on the market, but no one's buying it? Well..."

"Wait, wait, wait," Klaus said, suddenly realizing where the conversation was going. "You're going to be buying Caroline's house?"

"We're going to be renting it. We _both_ are," Matt clarified.

"We've been talking with Caroline's realtor, and since we were coming here anyway, we told her that we'd talk to Caroline when we saw her. She's not making any money off of it now; it's just sitting. The realtor actually said she's been meaning to contact Caroline to inquire if she'd be opposed to renting the house with the economy in the States being the way it is. And we can't think of a better landlord than Caroline..." Rebekah said.

"But…It's quite a large space for two people," Klaus said suspiciously.

"Well... Hopefully it won't be just us two for long," Matt said, and when Klaus raised his eyebrows, he quickly added, "I mean, Rebekah and I know how we feel about each other, but we're going to take things slow and do things when they feel right. And this feels right for right now, so that's why we're doing it." He took a deep breath and finally said, "And I don't want you or your family to think that Rebekah and I are rushing into things. I'm very serious about Rebekah and I wouldn't let her compromise anything in her life just for me."

Although he spoke to Klaus, his focus had been on the blonde to his right nearly the whole time he spoke. Klaus saw the way Matt looked at his sister and he felt some pride in knowing that a close friend of Caroline's was taking care of his baby sister.

"Well, as long as Caroline's fine with it," Klaus finally said. "I mean, who am I to judge about how fast a relationship goes?" He smiled and Rebekah and Matt had thought the very same thing, but they never would've said it to him. "And you already know, if you hurt my baby sister, Donovan, I will destroy you."

"I'd expect nothing less." Matt smiled, extending a hand to Klaus after he hugged Rebekah. Klaus released his sister and shook Matt's hand firmly and Rebekah clapped her hands.

"Okay great, so that's done! Let's-"

"Actually. There's something I need to tell you both too," Klaus interrupted.

"What? Is it bad?" Rebekah immediately replied.

"No I just... I have a confession to make." Rebekah and Matt stood silently waiting for Klaus fess up to whatever it was, and she dissected his body language the whole time. The interesting thing she noticed was what his hands were doing. When Rebekah was 13, she picked up on what she'd come to call, "Klaus' tells" and he was doing it right now. She hadn't seen him do that since...

"Wait a second," Rebekah said, looking up at Klaus's expression. "Oh my god..."

"What?" Matt asked, genuinely confused.

"I _knew_ it," Rebekah laughed, leaning forward in her chair and wiggling her eyebrows at Klaus.

* * *

"Where did your father go? It's nearly midnight," Caroline asked Klaus's eldest, looking behind for him, but she didn't dare move. Nina would skin her alive if she ditched her game of "Guess Who?" Ettie merely shrugged, distracted by the new round of "Apples to Apples" that she, Bonnie, and Stefan had started.

"Do you have Rosie?" Nina suddenly asked, her hand on her chin in deep contemplation.

"Man," Caroline feigned extreme disappointment. "You got me again, Nina!"

"I told you I'm the best!" The girl said proudly, scampering to the kitchen to get a sip of her drink that she'd left on the table. Matt and Rebekah reappeared around the corner, arms around each other's waists and Caroline stood, grabbing her wine glass.

"Hey! Where'd you guys go?"

"Nowhere," they both said quickly and Caroline quirked an eyebrow. Rebekah quickly added, "Klaus went to grab the, um, the bubbly. Actually Matt and I needed to ask you something, if that's alright?" Caroline glanced back and forth between them suspiciously then hesitantly replied, "Okay, it's not bad is it?"

"No! No. At least, we don't think it is, and we hope you don't," Rebekah replied. It took her and Matt all of five minutes to explain the situation with the house to Caroline before she gave them her exuberant response.

"Yes! Absolutely, I'll be your landlord!" she cheered, hugging both of them, "Although you do realize if your water heater breaks, you're shit out of luck. I'm across the pond and can't be of much help to you." The couple laughed and Rebekah waved away her friend's concern.

"Not to worry, your realtor said her office would draft up a contract and rental agreement and would email the paperwork to you to review once they came back from the holiday and we could get everything squared away."

"Sounds perfect," Caroline smiled and couldn't help but hug her friends all over again. "I'm so happy for you guys. This is going to be the most amazing year ever!"

"You have no idea," Matt muttered with a smirk, and Rebekah swiftly elbowed him in the gut and Caroline missed the entire exchange. As if right on cue, Klaus emerged from the hallway that led to the den downstairs and his studio.

"Hello, love..." he said smiling, kissing her cheek.

"Where's the bubbly? Rebekah said you went to go and get it?" Caroline asked, eyeing his empty hands. Klaus glanced at Rebekah then quickly back at Caroline.

"Yes, I thought I put the bottles downstairs, but I remembered that I actually left them in the cupboard. That's what I was going to go get now," he said smoothly. Caroline rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Never send a man to do a woman's job," she said lightly, turning to go retrieve the bubbly from the kitchen cupboard. "And hurry up and put the TV on! It's almost midnight!" She called over her shoulder as she walked. Klaus looked at Rebekah and Matt before hurrying to the living room to put the TV on the appropriate channel to watch the Clock Tower.

"So do they drop a ball here, or what do they watch the countdown on?" Bonnie asked, leaning against the kitchen counter with her glass of wine.

"Most seem to watch Big Ben, Klaus is going to go turn that on," Caroline said, searching the cabinets until she found the bottles of Dom Perignon.

"Very nice," Stefan commented, sipping from his whiskey glass.

"Are you guys going to have champagne?" she questioned, looking at their half full glasses.

"Duh!" Bonnie laughed before turning to Stefan and clinking glasses, "Bottom's up!" Both promptly threw back the remaining contents of their drinks. Caroline laughed and rolled her eyes as she took out flutes for them to carry to the living room. "Only my friends."

"You love us..." Bonnie said, wrapping an arm around her waist and the trio walked to the living room to join the rest of the bunch. Nina and Ettie already had on headbands that said "Happy New Year" in sparkly letters across the top, and thrust headbands at Caroline and Bonnie so they'd have one just like they and Rebekah did. Stefan even obligingly took a cone hat and put one on, but only because he looked over and saw Matt had begrudgingly put one on. Klaus smirked at Caroline, who was doubled over after seeing that the girls had put a headband on him as well. The group gathered around the television as they saw the channel start to count down, watching Big Ben's minute hand draw closer and closer to the 12.

"10... 9... 8... 7..." the adults and girls started to chant with the crowds, wrapping their arms around each other, "6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The girls went crazy, cheering and blowing their kazoos and pulling their confetti guns, which rained a surprising amount of confetti on the whole group. Each of the couples kissed, Bonnie pulled a reluctant Stefan down for a big sloppy kiss on the cheek, and they all laughed then moved around to embrace each other and wish them a Happy New Year. Klaus kissed both of his daughters before Rebekah pulled her brother in for a tight hug and whispered, "It's time, brother… Good luck…" in his ear before she pressed a kiss to his cheek and released him, a big wide smile on her face, snatching the headband off of his head.

Klaus took a deep breath and looked around and finally found Caroline, holding Nina in her arms and spinning her around with both of them giggling, and he smiled. He crossed to them and the girls slowly stopped spinning, swaying in their dizziness and giggling. When she caught sight of her father, Nina smiled and screeched, "HAPPY NEW YEAR DADDY!" and kept her legs wrapped around Caroline's torso long enough threw her arms around his neck and swing like a monkey over to her father and kissed his cheek and hugged him again.

"Happy New Year, sweetheart." he smiled, kissing the top of her head, "I love you."

"I love you, too!" she murmured before jumping off of him and running to tackle her sister. Klaus and Caroline laughed and turned to each other and Klaus pulled her into a tight hug.

"And I love you," he murmured and she sighed, taking in his musky scent and smiled as she replied, "I love you too." She went to loosen their embrace so she could kiss him again, but Klaus's arms were like a steel cage holding her tight. She paused before going back to put her arms around him again.

"Are you okay?" she asked tentatively.

"I'm great. Perfect actually," He said softly, his face buried in her fragrant blonde mane.

"Good," Caroline said, not sure what else to say and she waited for Klaus to respond or release her. The others were hugging and celebrating, except for Rebekah, who was hanging back with her cellphone out, aimed at Klaus and Caroline. Bonnie refilled her flute of champagne and went to stand beside her blonde British friend.

"What's going on, Suzie Stalker?" Bonnie said, bumping hips with her jokingly, but Rebekah kept her eyes focused on her cell phone and smiled.

"You'll see," she smirked, the lens of her camera phone focused in on the couple still embracing over by the fireplace. After a while, Klaus started to speak again, although he didn't release her.

"Caroline, I meant it when I said you were the most interesting girl I've ever met. You're beautiful, you're strong, and you're full of light. I enjoy you," He said softly, not letting her go, "I let you see parts of me and my past that aren't pretty and, instead of running for the hills as I had expected, you were compassionate and warm. Although initially I was worried about you meeting the girls, you've since become a part of our family easily and effortlessly; and not only have you become a part of our family, you've made it better. I've struggled for so long by myself, and finally, I'm not alone anymore. You're the best thing that could've ever happened to me, and to us, Caroline, and I don't intend on ever letting you go."

Although she was deeply moved by his speech, it made her very uneasy; she wasn't sure where his declaration was going, and she was frozen where she stood. She felt his arms loosen and release her, and she watched him warily.

"Klaus, what-" she started to say but every word she ever learned of the English language left her brain as he slowly got down on one knee. All the color drained from Caroline's face as she gaped at the man on the floor below her, giving her a sweet dimpled smile, his eyes shining in adoration. The rest of the party all took in the sight before them and reacted with gasps and chuckles. He pulled a small black velvet box out of his pocket.

"Caroline Renee Forbes," he said, smiling at her and opening the little box, "Will you marry me?"

The others cheered and celebrated, but their celebrations died down to a murmur when Caroline stood staring at Klaus, not responding. They chuckled because she didn't look like she was going to say, "No." Au contraire, she looked like she was struggling to find the words, any words, all of which had apparently escaped her.

"Figures, for the first time ever, Caroline Forbes is speechless," Matt said, not bothering to keep his voice down and the group laughed and Bonnie laid her head down on Rebekah's shoulder.

"Oh, Beks, I'm so glad you're getting all of this," she said and the blonde smirked.

"Caroline? Is there something you'd like to say?" Rebekah called over to the blonde statue, frozen in shock. Her wide eyes suddenly snapped up to where the question had come from and stuttered to get words out.

"Sorry? Wha?" She said, shock and awe still painted on her face and the group chuckled.

"Come on, darling, Klaus doesn't like to be kept waiting," she added with a sarcastic smirk.

"And lord knows you've made him wait long enough," Matt chimed in, making the group laugh and even making Klaus chuckle.

Caroline looked back down at Klaus, wondering how she'd come to this. A year ago, she was a newly single and frazzled 26-year-old workaholic just hoping for a relaxing vacation to recharge her batteries. Now here she was, 27, with a new job, new friends, and a new life, and best of all, a man that truly loved her and would give her the world to make her happy. How could she say no a whole world of happiness? All Caroline knew was, she didn't want to say no. For maybe the third time in her whole life, and in their relationship, she knew exactly what she wanted with perfect clarity.

She just wished her brain would reboot and remember how to speak English.

"Well?" Klaus asked softly, not wanting to rush her, but sure he saw the affirmation in her eyes. She opened her mouth to say the words, but nothing came out. He raised his eyebrows, waiting to hear her response, but she didn't know if the word would ever come, so she focused and forced her head to move up and down and nodded at him.

"Yes?" he offered the word and she clung to it.

"Yes," she said, her nodding getting faster and more emphatic as her shocked face slowly melted into a smile, "Yes! _YES_!" Klaus quickly rose and scooped her up and spun her around, his lips attacking hers. She was grateful that her brain had seemingly kick-started as she realized that she was clinging to him, her lips meeting his tit for tat, and her arms wrapped around his neck tightly as he spun her around. Their friends cheered and applauded and the girls ran over once Klaus set her down and kissed her again, and they wrapped their arms around both of the adults.

"NOW CAROLINE'S GOING TO STAY FOREVER!" Nina shrieked excitedly and even soft-spoken Ettie shrieked with her sister in excitement. All of the adults laughed and Klaus leaned down to kiss each of his daughters on the top of their heads. Nina and Ettie released them and held hands and danced in celebration and Klaus turned to Caroline. He took the ring out of the little box and slid it onto her left ring finger while her right hand covered her mouth as she choked back the happy tears that were overpowering her. He set the box down and took her face in his hands, and with her hands covered his, placed a soft sweet kiss to her lips before pulling back to gaze at her lovingly, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

"Damn you," she laughed, moving to wipe away a stray tear with her left hand before moving her hands to rest lightly on his waist. "11 years and not a drop, then you come along and I'm like Niagara Falls!" she said with fake frustration.

"Well, sorry I'm not sorry about that, love," he said grinning, his eyes shiny with his own happy tears.

"Don't worry; neither am I," she replied, smiling. His eyes danced around her face, and he lovingly traced one hand lightly from her hair down to her cheek again before he pulled her in for another kiss.

* * *

_**Epilogue**_

_18 Months Later_

"Come on, come on," Rebekah muttered under her breath, drumming her fingers on the desk, waiting for the icon to turn green. When it finally did, she double clicked it and she heard trilling and beeping, a dial tone and suddenly there was a connection.

"Hello?" Rebekah heard a voice come on over the Mac's speakers and she grinned.

"You're late!" she chastised.

"Well, excuse me, you're not juggling a newborn and a rambunctious 8 year old."

"What about the 10 year old?" she smirked.

"Oh, well she's heaven, as usual. But now it's two against one, so she's little help."

"Of course. Now enough chatter! Turn on the camera, I want to see my new nephew!"

"Alright alright! Hold your horses," Rebekah saw the pinwheel start to load over the icon and she heard, "Klaus sent you the picture didn't he? And I thought he posted the rest online for everyone to see?"

"It's not the same," Rebekah whined and suddenly Caroline's face appeared on the enormous computer screen.

"Can you see me?" Caroline smiled.

"Yes, now show me the goods!" Rebekah demanded.

"Okay, okay, jeez. So impatient..." Caroline muttered with a smile, standing and walking off screen.

"Something my brother and I have in common," Rebekah said and immediately squealed when Caroline reappeared, a sleeping bundle in her arms.

"And don't you dare scream!" Caroline warned in a low tone, "I just got him to sleep and I swear I'll punch through this computer screen if you wake him up. Couldn't take after his father and sleep like the dead, so lucky me gets to wake up every time he's woken up by so much as a cough..."

"He's beautiful," Rebekah whispered loudly, gazing at her new nephew, just two months old, nestled in Caroline's arms. "Oh, my God, he's so precious, I could just _die_." She covered her mouth to keep from squealing too loudly and Caroline smiled down at her little man.

"Yeah, you think I was a wreck at the wedding, you should've seen the waterworks in the hospital. They almost sedated me, but Klaus told them I'd be fine, I just need a good cry," she laughed. "Kol said he looks more like me, but I swear though, sometimes Will burps and he makes the same face that Klaus makes when-" Caroline froze when she looked back up at her screen at the image of Rebekah's face.

"What?" Rebekah said, suddenly worried. "What's wrong? What is it, Care?"

"What-What is that?" Caroline asked, her voice very small, and Rebekah's brow furrowed in confusion until she realized she'd covered her mouth with both hands.

"Oh, oh my god! Shit! It was supposed to be a surprise!" Rebekah cursed herself, immediately yanking her hands out of the view of the webcam.

"Oh, my God, you're engaged?!" Caroline hissed, and this time she was the one who had to cover her mouth so she wouldn't scream and wake the baby.

"Don't say _anything_! Don't tell Klaus. We were going to tell you lot when we saw you in a few weeks!"

"When did this happen?" Caroline freaked out. "Don't hold out on me, let me see that rock again, Beks!" Rebekah smiled, glad that she didn't have to keep the secret from at least Caroline anymore, and held her left hand back up to the camera.

"Oh my god! How much are they paying college professors these days? Does Matt get paid in gold bricks?"

"Stop it… I told him it was far too much, and he just said what he always says..." Rebekah started.

"'It's the least that you deserve," Rebekah and Caroline said in unison.

"Yep, that's Matt for you." Caroline shook her head with a smile. "But when did he ask you?!"

"Valentine's Day. And I know it's cheesy, trust me I've heard it enough from Bonnie..."

"Hey, I'm not judging, Klaus popped the question on New Year's," Caroline shrugged then looked contemplative, "I think he just wanted a reason for extra boozing..."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what it was," Rebekah deadpanned and Caroline made a face and stuck her tongue out at her.

"So when are you guys gonna get hitched?"

"We don't know. He's still sort of settling into his new faculty position at the college, and they're doing some moving around and redistribution of people at the magazine so we're going to wait it out and play it by ear. We're in no rush." She smiled and Caroline smiled back, shaking her head.

"Funny how everyone worried about you diving into things too fast, but here I am only two years later and married with a baby."

"Yeah but I think that's just because of how quickly I rushed into things with Damon and how much time you wasted on Tyler," she said, with a pensive voice, "But that was only because they weren't right for us. Klaus is right for you, and Matt is right for me. But we can't fault ourselves for being with Damon and Tyler because without them, we never would've come to find our men, would we?"

"No, I guess you're right. Wow, that's kinda crazy when you think about it."

"It's funny the way the world works sometimes."

"You've got that right." Caroline smiled and suddenly turned her head and Rebekah could faintly hear a door opening and closing. Caroline turned back to the computer with a serious face.

"Klaus approaching," she muttered as quietly as she could but trying to make sure Rebekah heard her, "Ix-nay on the ing-ray." Rebekah took the hint and slid her engagement ring off stealthily and placed it on the other side of the desk where it wouldn't be in trouble of getting on camera.

"Caroline, is Will asleep or do you need me to-" Klaus's voice suddenly came from off camera and Caroline looked up in his direction and Rebekah heard him pause. "Oh, he's asleep, good. Wait, are you on the camera?"

"Yeah, with Beks. Come say 'hi'!" Caroline smiled. Rebekah smiled as her favorite brother appeared on camera, giving her a dimpled smirk.

"Don't you ever work?" he said haughtily, gazing at his little sister on the computer screen.

"Nice to see you to, Nik. Always a pleasure." Klaus snorted and Caroline rolled her eyes with a smile. "So when's your flight coming in?"

"July 17th," Klaus said, "That was in the time frame you gave me, is that alright?"

"Of course. But if it's better for us to come up, we don't mind. I mean is Will going to be okay? Are you alright to take him on an airplane?"

"Well the doctor said we should give it two to three months for his immune system to kick in more since he'll be exposed to new germs and such. I mean it's scary, but we decided that if two months is what it takes then we're not going to keep him in a plastic bubble; letting him build up his immune system might be best. And the doctor also said he might get a little fussy if his ears pop with the air pressure after take off, but that can be remedied with a little baby aspirin, so we're going to give him some before the flight." Klaus said and Caroline nodded.

"And I'll feed him during take off to keep him calm. A girl at the station said she had to bring their one month old on a plane trip to visit her mother in the hospital and the baby was fine… Besides, Will's not a fussy baby, he's just a light sleeper is all…" she chimed in.

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out..."

"We're good like that." Caroline shrugged with a smirk.

"I don't foresee us having much trouble with Will..." Klaus added, "It's the little Tasmanian Devil contained on an 8 hour flight that worries me."

"Bring your laptop and movies, she'll be fine!"

"Oh, movies you say?" Caroline said holding up a finger and reaching over and sliding over a stack of DVDs. "Hmm? Hmmm?" she murmured, holding up a plethora of DVDs for Rebekah to see.

"Very nice."

"And we let her pick them out so she knows what they are, but she knows she's only allowed to watch them on the airplane…" Klaus added.

"So she's dying to see them, therefore she'll be totally transfixed on the plane…" Caroline said triumphantly.

"Well look at you two," Rebekah smirked, "Got everything all worked out."

"We make a good team," Caroline murmured looking at Klaus with love and he leaned over and planted a kiss to her lips.

"Alright, and on that note, I'm gonna go. I have to go and pick some things up for dinner tonight. Get a room you two."

"Don't need to, we have one already, sister," Klaus said with a saucy grin.

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, goodbye, lovebirds. Talk to you later."

"Bye Beks, love you!" Caroline waved at the screen before leaning down and gingerly taking Will's tiny hand and slowly moving it up and down as if he were waving it.

"Bye, sweet William! I'll see you soon!" Rebekah crooned before she laughed, "Bye, Nik."

"Goodbye, Rebekah, we'll talk to you later."

"Sounds good. Bye!" She waved again before her image disappeared and they heard the program end the call.

"So what's up with the girls?" Caroline turned and asked Klaus, whose arms were outstretched, and she placed Will carefully in his arms.

"Kol just got them and is bringing them to Elijah and Katherine's for the weekend. They'll probably be going to the zoo and whatnot," he said, taking a moment to enjoy holding his son before carefully placing him back into the bassinet beside them.

"Sounds like fun," Caroline said, shutting down the computer and turning back to him.

"Not as much fun as this," he smirked, pulling Caroline in for a kiss but quickly his lips left hers and kissed down her jaw and neck. Caroline sighed and buried her fingers in his curly locks and suddenly gasped and Klaus snapped up to look at her.

"Are you okay? What's-" he started but Caroline merely laughed.

"It's alright, but be gentle. They're a little sensitive..." she laughed and he realized he'd grabbed her breast maybe a little too roughly. "I know you can't help it, there's just so much more to grab," she joked and he laughed.

"That's an understatement. Not that I didn't love your figure before, love, but…" Klaus's voice trailed off as he admired Caroline's breasts and she laughed.

"I've only gone up a cup size, Klaus. And you shouldn't get too excited, they'll be back to normal soon."

"So I better enjoy them while I can?" he said with a smirk, leaning in for another kiss, making her laugh.

"You're such an asshole!" she laughed, kissing him, and when he pulled away, he wrapped his arms around her waist and threaded his fingers together.

"Yes, but I'm _your_ asshole," he grinned.

"That's disgusting," Caroline laughed, scrunching up her face, and Klaus kissed her nose before peppering light kisses all over her face. She sighed contentedly and he slowed his ministrations to look at her seriously.

"But really, are you alright? We don't have to if you're not ready or your not fully healed..."

"Are you kidding me? I'm so horny and I blame you! Being pregnant never stopped us, and now I've had to wait for my body to catch up with my hormones!" Caroline said, exasperatedly.

"Well you know what they say, love," Klaus grinned before giving her an agonizingly slow and passionate kiss, "'All good things to those who wait.'"

"Well then this is going to be fucking mind-blowing," Caroline moaned, pulling him down and wrapping herself around him. She attacked his mouth until he suddenly broke away and scooped her up unexpectedly, throwing her over his shoulder. She laughed and started smacking his butt, not able to do much else as she dangled over his shoulder.

"No need to get kinky, sweetheart." he joked and she shushed him as he brought her down onto their bed.

"You wake up the baby, you're sleeping on the driveway," she warned him and he quirked an eyebrow at her.

"And if you wake the baby?" he asked with a grin. Caroline considered for a moment before grinning back at him.

"Husband's choice," she smiled and he grinned at her.

"You're going to regret giving up that much power," he said, kissing her again.

"I'm sure you'd like to think that, but you're going to be the one to keep the volume down. And I'm the horny hormonal woman. Who knows what scream inducing tricks I'm going to pull out of my hat?" she asked, kissing down his throat. She paused to suck on his pulse point, causing him to growl low in his throat.

"I'll take that as a challenge," he said and she smiled.

"Then let the games begin," she said, wrapping her legs around his waist.

* * *

**Author's Note**: I HOPE YOU GUYS LOVED THIS AS MUCH AS I DID! OMG I'M SO SAD IT'S OVER! GAHHH!

I just want to thank everyone who's followed this story, favorited it, reviewed it, sent me messages on Tumblr, or followed or favorited me. I wanna cry every time I see that because I only have one story, so that says a lot to me.

I really became attached to these characters in this universe, and I hope you like the way it ended... I just wrote it and it felt right... Gahhh I'm so sad that we won't get any more of them... But it's like the saying goes, "When one door closes, another opens..." I hope you'll all like the new fic I'll be starting, _Green Card_... And like I told Meha, I may go back and write drabbles of the Klaroline wedding, Mabekah proposal and little William being born…

And just in case anyone was wondering, his name is William Henry Mikaelson; William after Caroline's dad, Bill, and Henry after Henrik :) And I found the most adorable picture of a baby and I'm convinced that if Joseph and Caroline had a baby, this baby would be it. It's smiling and its face and eyes looks like Candice, but its curls are so Jomo's… I'll post it on my Tumblr page in a couple of days so I don't spoil the chapter for too many people…

And I hope this all made sense, like I told Meha, I was worried that it wouldn't seem right, Klaus up and leaving the girls to rush to get to Caroline, but in my head, he told the girls what had happened and that he had to go help Caroline and they'd be staying with Aunt Kat and Uncle Elijah until he came back, and that's why Katherine came over… I just didn't want to spoil the reveal of Klaus showing up on her doorstep, unexpectedly and not requested but totally needed and welcome. I hope that worked and made sense...

And on that note, I want to send out a big shout out to my lovely Betas, C.C. (_klaussaholic_) and Meha (_sassyklaroline; _formerly known as _givemeklaus_). C.C. came in late to the game and helped me out and when she had computer problems, Meha had my back. I love them both very dearly and am so grateful for all of their help! I love you gals! You're amazing and rock my socks!

So thanks for being along for the ride everyone! It's been such a pleasure!

**xo Becky**


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